Data from: Ear and hearing care in national health policies, strategies, and plans

Ear and hearing-related conditions pose a significant global health burden, yet public health policy surrounding ear and hearing care in low- and middle-income countries is poorly understood. The present study aims to characterize the inclusion of ear and hearing care (EHC) in national health policies by analyzing 124 National Health Policies, Strategies, and Plans in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic. Eight ear and hearing care keywords were searched, including ear, hearing, audiology, otitis media, ototoxic, noise, vertigo, and hearing screening. "HIV/AIDS," "tuberculosis," and "malaria" were included as comparison keywords as these conditions have historically garnered political priority in global health. Of the 194 World Health Organization member states, there were 100 national policies that met inclusion criteria. These documents mentioned EHC keywords significantly less than comparison terms, with mention of hearing in 25%, noise in 11% noise, and ears in 11%. There was mention of HIV/AIDS in 92% of documents, tuberculosis in 88%, and malaria in 70%. Documents in low- and middle-income countries included significantly fewer mentions of ear and hearing care terms than those of high-income countries. We conclude that ear and hearing conditions pose a significant burden of disease but are severely underrepresented in national health policy; EHC should be included in national health policy to avert unnecessary morbidity. Advocacy for EHC policy is particularly urgent in low- and middle-income countries given the high burden of disease and infrequent inclusion in policy.

耳部与听力相关疾病已构成严重的全球健康负担，但目前学界对低收入和中等收入国家耳部与听力保健相关公共卫生政策的认知仍较为匮乏。本研究旨在通过分析124份英文、法文、西班牙文、葡萄牙文及阿拉伯文版的国家卫生政策、战略与规划，刻画各国国家卫生政策中耳部及听力保健（Ear and Hearing Care, EHC）的纳入情况。本研究共检索8个耳部及听力保健相关关键词，包括耳部（ear）、听力（hearing）、听力学（audiology）、中耳炎（otitis media）、耳毒性（ototoxic）、噪声（noise）、眩晕（vertigo）及听力筛查（hearing screening）；同时选取艾滋病（HIV/AIDS）、结核病（Tuberculosis）及疟疾（Malaria）作为对照关键词，因上述三类疾病在全球卫生领域长期享有政治优先级。在194个世界卫生组织（World Health Organization, WHO）成员国中，共有100份符合纳入标准的国家卫生政策。上述政策提及EHC相关关键词的频率显著低于对照关键词：其中提及“听力”的占比为25%，提及“噪声”的占比为11%，提及“耳部”的占比为11%；有92%的政策提及艾滋病（HIV/AIDS），88%提及结核病，70%提及疟疾。低收入和中等收入国家的政策中，耳部及听力保健相关关键词的提及频率显著低于高收入国家的政策。本研究结论认为，耳部与听力相关疾病虽已构成显著的疾病负担，但在国家卫生政策中的占比严重不足；应将耳部及听力保健纳入国家卫生政策，以避免不必要的发病与失能。鉴于低收入和中等收入国家的疾病负担沉重且耳部及听力保健政策纳入率极低，针对该领域卫生政策的倡导工作尤为紧迫。