Knowledge of final year medicine, pharmacy, audiology and nursing students in South Africa on drug-induced ototoxicity: A pilot study.
Omphile Mogole, Natalie Schellack, Cara Hollander and 1 others
PMID 31793316WHAT IT FOUND
Final year health students in South Africa often cannot identify signs of drug-induced hearing loss or know when to refer for monitoring.
Many believe hearing checks should only happen after treatment ends, missing the window to prevent permanent damage.
Key findings
01While most students could define ototoxicity, only 28% identified its signs and 21% knew the risk factors.
02Over half of medical students (52%) incorrectly believed patients should be referred for audiological monitoring only after treatment was completed.
03Less than half of all respondents (45%) knew the correct steps to take when a patient starts experiencing ototoxic side effects.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The response rate was low (41%), and not all universities participated, so the results may not represent all South African health students. The study used a self-developed questionnaire, so its validity and reliability were not established in the text. This is a pilot study assessing knowledge, not clinical practice or patient outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these knowledge gaps reflect the competence of qualified clinicians. This study surveyed final year students, not practicing professionals, and the low response rate means we do not know if the non-responders were more or less knowledgeable.