Prevalence of otitis media and risk factors for sensorineural hearing loss among infants attending routine well-baby clinics in urban and rural/remote Samoa: a study protocol

Abstract

Background The World Health Organization recommends newborn and infant hearing screening programs for all member states to enable early detection and intervention for children with hearing loss. Ear and hearing services are limited in the Pacific Islands, a region with one of the highest global rates of ear disease and hearing loss. Given that a significant proportion of childhood hearing loss is preventable through public health measures, collaboration with existing primary and public health platforms should reduce the prevalence of avoidable ear and hearing disorders among infants and young children. Previous work has investigated an infant ear and hearing program for child welfare clinics in an urban Pacific Island setting. The present study will build on this previous work by investigating the possibility of an Infant Ear and Hearing Program in a different Pacific Island country, and performing comparisons between urban and rural/remote populations. Methods and analysis We propose a cross-sectional study of infants attending well-baby clinics in urban (Apia), rural (Upolu), and remote (Savai’i) Samoa. All participating infants will undergo an ear examination of both ears, and as assessment of risk factors for permanent hearing loss. Ethics and and conclusions We publish these protocols to facilitate similar studies in other low- and middle-Income countries, and especially among our Pacific Island neighbours. We anticipate that 25% of infants will present with ear pathology in at least one ear, and that 25% of infants will present with at least one risk factor for permanent hearing loss. This study was approved by the Government of Samoa Ministry of Health Ethical Research Committee and the University of Queensland Medical Ethics Research Committee.