Hearing-screening record-keeping practices at primary healthcare clinics in Gauteng.

Objectives: As little is known about hearing screening practices at primary healthcare (PHC) clinics in South Africa, the study aimed to describe hearing-screening and record-keeping practices of nurses during typical immunisation sessions at PHC clinics in Gauteng, South Africa.

Methods: Data were obtained through observations (N2 = 80) and questionnaires (N1 = 20) which were then cross-checked with retrospective information collected from the Road-to-Health Charts and City of Johannesburg Child Health Services Blue Cards of children observed during typical immunisation sessions.

Results: A key finding of this study was that PHC nurses who participated in this study do not adhere to the hearing-screening record-keeping practices as outlined by the national Department of Health.

Conclusions: Poor record-keeping practices hinder the efficacy of hearing-screening programmes. Accurate record keeping is important in order to document outcomes which can be used to evaluate service delivery and the efficacy of hearing-screening programmes.