Societal costs of hearing disorders: A systematic and critical review of literature.
Author
Summary, in English
Objective:
The objective of this study was to perform a critical and systematic literature review of studies on societal costs due to hearing disorders.
Design:
We used predefined search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Systematic searches were conducted in Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and other relevant websites. The review included studies written in English or Swedish between 1995 and the end of January 2012. Study sample: We identified four published studies and four reports that met the pre-defined inclusion criteria.
Results:
Swedish cost studies primarily focused on costs of hearing aids. International studies with a societal perspective used different costing approaches and were limited to specific patient populations. Hearing disorders impact the social welfare system more than the medical care system. Indirect costs account for the major part and direct medical costs for a minor part of the total costs of hearing disorders.
Conclusions:
There is a need for further studies estimating societal costs for all degrees of hearing disorders, in particular since a large part of the people with hearing disorders are of working age.
The objective of this study was to perform a critical and systematic literature review of studies on societal costs due to hearing disorders.
Design:
We used predefined search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Systematic searches were conducted in Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and other relevant websites. The review included studies written in English or Swedish between 1995 and the end of January 2012. Study sample: We identified four published studies and four reports that met the pre-defined inclusion criteria.
Results:
Swedish cost studies primarily focused on costs of hearing aids. International studies with a societal perspective used different costing approaches and were limited to specific patient populations. Hearing disorders impact the social welfare system more than the medical care system. Indirect costs account for the major part and direct medical costs for a minor part of the total costs of hearing disorders.
Conclusions:
There is a need for further studies estimating societal costs for all degrees of hearing disorders, in particular since a large part of the people with hearing disorders are of working age.
Department/s
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Pages
655-662
Publication/Series
International Journal of Audiology
Volume
51
Issue
9
Full text
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Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Topic
- Other Medical Sciences not elsewhere specified
Status
Published
Research group
- Health Economics
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1708-8186