Early childhood development strategy for the world's children with disabilities.

Early childhood is foundational for optimal and inclusive lifelong learning, health and well-being. Young children with disabilities face substantial risks of sub-optimal early childhood development (ECD), requiring targeted support to ensure equitable access to lifelong learning opportunities, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Although the Sustainable Development Goals, 2015-2030 (SDGs) emphasise inclusive education for children under 5 years with disabilities, there is no global strategy for achieving this goal since the launch of the SDGs.

Global prevalence of developmental disabilities in children and adolescents: A systematic umbrella review.

Aim: The provisions of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for disability-inclusive education have stimulated a growing interest in ascertaining the prevalence of children with developmental disabilities globally. We aimed to systematically summarize the prevalence estimates of developmental disabilities in children and adolescents reported in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Methods: For this umbrella review we searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library for systematic reviews published in English between September 2015 and August 2022.

Self-reported dual sensory impairment and related factors: a European population-based cross-sectional survey.

Background: Data on population-based self-reported dual vision and hearing impairment are sparse in Europe. We aimed to investigate self-reported dual sensory impairment (DSI) in European population.

Methods: A standardised questionnaire was used to collect medical and socio-economic data among individuals aged 15 years or more in 29 European countries.

Global and regional prevalence of disabilities among children and adolescents: Analysis of findings from global health databases.

Objective: The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require population-based data on children with disabilities to inform global policies and intervention programs. We set out to compare the prevalence estimates of disabilities among children and adolescents younger than 20 years as reported by the world's leading organizations for global health statistics.

Methods: We purposively searched the disability reports and databases of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) Study.

Cerebral palsy and developmental intellectual disability in children younger than 5 years: Findings from the GBD-WHO Rehabilitation Database 2019.

Objective: Children with developmental disabilities are associated with a high risk of poor school enrollment and educational attainment without timely and appropriate support. Epidemiological data on cerebral palsy and associated comorbidities required for policy intervention in global health are lacking. This paper set out to report the best available evidence on the global and regional prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) and developmental intellectual disability and the associated "years lived with disability" (YLDs) among children under 5 years of age in 2019.

Older adults' perceptions of current and future hearing healthcare services in Australia, England, US and Canada.

Objective: A high prevalence of hearing loss in older adults contrasts with a small proportion of people who seek help. Emerging developments in hearing healthcare (HHC) could reduce costs but may not increase access. This study evaluated older adults' perceptions of current and future HHC services in Australia, England, US and Canada to explore potential levers and system improvements.

Global Burden of Childhood Epilepsy, Intellectual Disability, and Sensory Impairments.

Background: Estimates of children and adolescents with disabilities worldwide are needed to inform global intervention under the disability-inclusive provisions of the Sustainable Development Goals. We sought to update the most widely reported estimate of 93 million children <15 years with disabilities from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2004.

Methods: We analyzed Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 data on the prevalence of childhood epilepsy, intellectual disability, and vision or hearing loss and on years lived with disability (YLD) derived from systematic reviews, health surveys, hospital and claims databases, cohort studies, and disease-specific registries.

Hearing in Adults: A Digital Reprint of the Main Report From the MRC National Study of Hearing.

The 1011-page book, Hearing in Adults, published in 1995, contains the fullest report of the United Kingdom’s Medical Research Council National Study of Hearing. It was designed to determine the prevalence and distribution in Great Britain of audiometrically measured hearing loss as a function of age, gender, occupation, and noise exposure. The study’s size, quality, and breadth made it unique when it was done in the 1980s.

A simple method to estimate noise levels in the workplace based on self-reported speech communication effort in noise.

To validate a method using self-reported speech communication effort in noise to estimate occupational noise levels by comparing with measured noise levels. A comparative observational study. Reported vocal effort to communicate with a person at a distance of 1.

Changes in health in England, with analysis by English regions and areas of deprivation, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Background: In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), knowledge about health and its determinants has been integrated into a comparable framework to inform health policy. Outputs of this analysis are relevant to current policy questions in England and elsewhere, particularly on health inequalities. We use GBD 2013 data on mortality and causes of death, and disease and injury incidence and prevalence to analyse the burden of disease and injury in England as a whole, in English regions, and within each English region by deprivation quintile.

Performance and characteristics of the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme in England: The first seven years.

Objective: To assess the performance of the universal newborn hearing screen in England.

Design: Retrospective analysis of population screening records.

Study Sample: A total of 4 645 823 children born 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2013.

Effectiveness of targeted surveillance to identify moderate to profound permanent childhood hearing impairment in babies with risk factors who pass newborn screening.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of targeted surveillance for the identification of moderate-profound PCHI in babies who pass the newborn hearing screen in England and have risk factors.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Study Sample: 2,307,880 children born 01/04/06-30/09/09 in England.

Interventions following hearing screening in adults: a systematic descriptive review.

Objective: Adult hearing screening may be a solution to the under-diagnosis and under-treatment of hearing loss in adults. Limited use and satisfaction with hearing aids indicate that consideration of alternative interventions following hearing screening may be needed. The primary aim of this study is to provide an overview of all intervention types that have been offered to adult (≥ 18 years) screen-failures.

Patient preferences for direct hearing aid provision by a private dispenser. A discrete choice experiment.

Objectives: Our objective was to elicit patient preferences for transferring elements of hearing aid provision from the medical sector [Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists and audiological centers] to private hearing aid dispensers, and to understand the trade-offs between different elements of hearing aid provision.

Design: A discrete choice experiment was administered from 150 hearing-impaired persons in the Netherlands. Mean age was 71 (range 18-95) and 57% were male.

A comparison of the quality of life of hearing-impaired people as estimated by three different utility measures.

The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of life of hearing-impaired adults, as assessed by three different utility measures - the EuroQol (EQ-5D), the Health Utilities Index Mark III (HUI3), and the SF-6D (derived from the SF-36 questionnaire). Measuring quality of life in terms of utility enables the benefits of many interventions to be compared on a common scale, where 0 corresponds to death and 1 to perfect health. Utility scores for 915 new referrals (mean age 69 years, 55% male) to four UK audiology clinics were estimated.