Review Article Overview of a public health approach to pediatric hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands Annette Kaspar a,b, *, Joseph Kei a , Carlie Driscoll a , De Wet Swanepoel c , Helen Goulios d a Hearing Research Unit for Children, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia b ENT Clinic, National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands c Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa d School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, Australia ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 8 February 2016 Received in revised form 11 April 2016 Accepted 12 April 2016 Available online 22 April 2016 Keywords: Hearing loss Otitis media Meningitis Pacific Islands Developing countries Public health A B ST R AC T Background: Childhood hearing impairment is a significant cause of disability in developing countries. Otitis media and meningitis are leading infectious causes of preventable hearing loss in children. It is estimated that the Pacific Islands have among the greatest global burden of childhood hearing impair- ment due to infectious causes, and yet there is currently very little in the research literature on pediatric hearing disorders in this region. Objectives: (1) To review existing research literature on pediatric hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands, and (2) to present a public health approach to the development and improvement of childhood hearing services in the Pacific Islands. Data: The primary tool was a comprehensive literature review. MEDLINE and ScienceDirect databases were searched for relevant journal articles. There was no limit on the date of publication. Any article reporting on hearing impairment in the Pacific Region was included. Results: A total of 23 journal articles were found that satisfied the above inclusion criteria. The limited information available in the literature suggests that otitis media and vaccine-preventable infections are a significant cause of avoidable childhood hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands. Pediatric audiol- ogy services are limited in this region. Further research is required to develop effective public health programs that should reduce the burden of preventable childhood hearing loss in the Pacific Islands. Conclusions: There is limited information in the research literature on pediatric hearing impairment and au- diology services in the Pacific Islands. Epidemiological data based on the WHO Ear and Hearing Disorders Survey Protocol are urgently needed, and the development of audiology services within the existing public and primary health care framework should reduce the burden of preventable hearing loss in the Pacific Islands. © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 2. Methods .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 45 2.1. Inclusion/exclusion criteria ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 45 3. Results: literature review ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 45 3.1. Prevalence and etiology of pediatric hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands ............................................................................................................ 45 3.1.1. Childhood conductive hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands ........................................................................................................................ 45 3.1.2. Childhood sensorineural hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands .................................................................................................................. 48 3.2. Pediatric audiology services in the Pacific Islands ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49 3.3. Gaps in the literature ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 4. Discussion: addressing pediatric hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands through the capacity-development of an integrated public health approach ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50 5. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 51 References .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 51 * Corresponding author at: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia. Tel.: 61 7 3365 28 24; fax: 61 7 3365 1622. E-mail address: annette.kaspar@gmail.com (A. Kaspar). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2016.04.018 0165-5876/© 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 86 (2016) 43–52 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijporl