Vårdnadshavares attityd, beteende och upplevda kunskap om ljudexponering och dess risker
HörselpreventionVårdnadshavareHörselskyddande beteendeBarnavårdscentralHearing preventionCaregiverHearing protection behaviourChild health care centre
Background: From a public health perspective it is of great interest to prevent the risk of noise induced hearing loss, because in addition to hearing loss, tinnitus and sound sensitivity also may lead to other health problems. About 1,4 million people in Sweden live with some form of hearing loss and 25000 of them are children under the age of 16. Studies have shown that hearing loss among adolescents is increasing and it is often associated with sound environments in their leisure time. Lectures in hearing prevention has been conducted in schools for adolescents but have not reached the desired results. Objective: To enquire caregivers? attitude, behaviour and perceived knowledge about sound exposure and its risks. The aim of the study also includes examining caregivers? interest in learning more about the subject. Method: The study is a Swedish survey conducted on caregivers in child health care centres. Result: The majority of the participants perceived themselves as having good/partially good knowledge in how to protect themselves from harmful sound exposure but they also showed interest in learning more about the subject. In a few participants you could however see signs of risk-taking behaviour in relation to sound exposure.