National Programme For Prevention And Control Of Deafness: The most common sensory problem in humans is hearing loss. The National Programme for Deafness Prevention and Control was developed by the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There are about 63 million people in India, as per the WHO, who are distressed by this issue.
Hearing impairment may have a significant impact on people’s ability to connect with others, on their schooling, on their ability to gain and retain jobs, and on social relationships that contribute to reprehension.
The substantial severity of the issue suggests the need for an efficient approach to avoid the onset of hearing loss. A trial/pilot project for the prevention and control of hearing loss in the country was launched, acknowledging the need and based on the principles of the sound hearing government of India. In 2007, the pilot project was started.
The programme was expanded to include 192 districts from 20 states. The programme is planned to be expanded to an additional 200 districts in a staggered manner that is likely to include all states and union territories by March 2017.
Components of the Programme
Table of Contents
- Service provision.
- Generation of awareness through IEC/BCC activities.
- Capacity building.
- Manpower training and development.
Service Provision: Early diagnosis and treatment of cases of hearing and speech impairment and recovery at various stages of the delivery system of health care.
Awareness generation through IEC activities: For early detection of hearing impairment, in particular children, so that it is possible to treat those cases on time and to eliminate the stigma attached to deafness.
Capacity building: To audiometric facilities for the district hospital, neighborhood health centers, and primary health center.
Manpower training and development: Education from medical college specialists (ENT and Audiometry) to grass-root staff will be provided for prevention, early detection, and treatment of cases of hearing impairment and deafness.
Functions
- Development of human resources for ear treatment services.
- Developing the institutional capacities of district hospitals.
- To promote effective information and education public awareness through communication strategies.
- Training to all the manpower.
- Screening, early diagnosis and management.
- To aware people of the disease Le. we can take care of our ears by these methods.
Objectives
- To improve the current inter-sectoral linkage for the continuation of the recovery programme for people with deafness.
- Early detection, diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss-related ear problems.
- Prevent the avoidable loss of hearing due to illness.
- Identification of health care facilities and operations at the primary, middle and tertiary levels.
- To identify weaknesses and strengths, and short-term and long-term needs.
- To treat individuals of all age groups suffering from deafness medically.
- To construct a hearing aid using a digital signal process.
Long Term Objective
Prevent and control the main causes of hearing impairment and deafness, so that by the end of the 12th five-year plan, we will reduce the overall burden of this disease by 25 percent.
Outcomes
- Decrease in the number of people with hearing impairment.
- Knowledge among health workers and root-level workers to act within the group with the support of PHC medical officers and health officers.
- Reduction in the range of different ear conditions and hearing impairment.
- Increased availability at PHC/District Hospital and Community Health Workers of different services such as; early detection, diagnosis prevention, care, rehabilitation, etc. for hearing impairment and deafness.
- Improved support network for the hearing impaired.
- Increased capacity building to ensure better treatment and facilities at the district hospitals.
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