{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T15:15:57Z","timestamp":1777562157144,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,12]],"date-time":"2024-09-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1726099200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ear Nose Throat J"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: To assess the prevalence and pattern of ear disease among students attending primary school in urban, rural, and remote regions of Samoa in order to develop an evidence-based national school ear and hearing health program. Methods: Retrospective clinical data review of all primary school students seen by the Ear, Nose &amp; Throat Clinic of Samoa during school-based outreach visits from March 2022 to April 2024. A purposefully designed spreadsheet was created to extract the following information from the clinical records: school location (urban, rural, remote), gender (male, female), age (years), age category (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15+ years), right ear diagnosis, left ear diagnosis. Data were entered into the SPSS statistical software package for descriptive statistical analysis and association tests of significance. Results: A total of 1491 primary school students were seen for ear health examinations (51.1% male, 48.9% female), with a mean age of 9.1 years (SD = 2.3). Five primary schools were included, representing urban (n = 865), rural (n = 258), and remote (n = 368) settings. Overall, 682 (45.7%) students had normal ear examination results for both ears, 237 (15.9%) had an ear pathology in 1 ear only, and 568 (38.1%) had ear pathology in both ears. Bilateral ear pathology was significantly higher among students who were in the 5 to 9 age group ( P &lt; .00001), female ( P = .035), and from rural settings ( P = .0001). The most common pathology was impacted cerumen (36.8%), followed by otitis media with effusion (7.5%). Overall prevalence of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) was 2.6% (n = 39 students). Following the school visits, no further intervention was required for 1180 students (79%), mostly due to successful cerumen and foreign body removals for 468 students (31.4%). Conclusion: Impacted cerumen is a significant issue among Samoan school-aged students, and future school-based ear health programs should include staff members trained in cerumen removal. CSOM prevalence suggests an avoidable burden of disease that must be addressed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/01455613241279719","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,13]],"date-time":"2024-09-13T22:51:00Z","timestamp":1726267860000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Prevalence and Pattern of Ear Disease Among Primary School Students in Samoa: Preliminary Results from ENT Clinic Outreach to Urban, Rural and Remote Settings"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4035-3236","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annette","family":"Kaspar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ENT Department, Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital, Ministry of Health, Apia, Samoa"},{"name":"Hearing Research Unit for Children, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sione","family":"Pifeleti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ENT Department, Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital, Ministry of Health, Apia, Samoa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carlie","family":"Driscoll","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hearing Research Unit for Children, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Ah Kuoi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ENT Department, Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital, Ministry of Health, Apia, Samoa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-01455613241279719","unstructured":"WHO. Childhood hearing loss. Strategies for prevention and care. 2016. Accessed June 26, 2024. http:\/\/apps.who.int\/iris\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/204632\/9789241510325_eng.pdf?sequence=1"},{"key":"bibr2-01455613241279719","volume-title":"World Report on Hearing","author":"WHO","year":"2021"},{"key":"bibr3-01455613241279719","unstructured":"UN. Sustainable Development Goals. 2015. Accessed June 26, 2024. http:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/sustainable-development-goals\/"},{"key":"bibr4-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0036226"},{"key":"bibr5-01455613241279719","unstructured":"WHO. WHO Global estimates on prevalence of hearing loss. 2018. Accessed January 26, 2019. https:\/\/www.who.int\/pbd\/deafness\/estimates\/en\/"},{"key":"bibr6-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1071\/HC15005"},{"key":"bibr7-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2471\/BLT.18.224600"},{"key":"bibr8-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2016.04.018"},{"key":"bibr9-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2019.109857"},{"key":"bibr10-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2018.05.021"},{"key":"bibr11-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2018.08.004"},{"key":"bibr12-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20503121211060182"},{"issue":"1475","key":"bibr13-01455613241279719","first-page":"69","volume":"131","author":"Holt EAL","year":"2018","journal-title":"N Z Med J"},{"key":"bibr14-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2017.10.003"},{"key":"bibr15-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2023.111557"},{"key":"bibr16-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/20503121231214602"},{"key":"bibr17-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2333794X221126079"},{"key":"bibr18-01455613241279719","first-page":"1","volume":"9","author":"Kaspar A","year":"2023","journal-title":"SAGE Open Nurs"},{"issue":"3","key":"bibr19-01455613241279719","first-page":"237","volume":"14","author":"Holt EAL","year":"2022","journal-title":"Qual Mixed Methods Res"},{"key":"bibr20-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7189\/jogh.13.03001"},{"key":"bibr21-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2333794X231203504"},{"key":"bibr22-01455613241279719","author":"Kaspar A","journal-title":"Ann Otol, Rhinol Laryngol"},{"key":"bibr23-01455613241279719","volume-title":"WHO Ear and Hearing Survey Handbook","author":"WHO","year":"2020"},{"key":"bibr24-01455613241279719","volume-title":"Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media: Burden of Illness and Management Options","author":"WHO","year":"2004"},{"key":"bibr25-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0165-5876(96)01363-8"},{"key":"bibr26-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022215100126581"},{"key":"bibr27-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022215105001520"},{"key":"bibr28-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1179\/146532807X245689"},{"key":"bibr29-01455613241279719","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2471\/BLT.18.227561"},{"key":"bibr30-01455613241279719","first-page":"36","author":"Kaspar A","year":"2022","journal-title":"Hear J"}],"container-title":["Ear, Nose &amp; Throat Journal"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/01455613241279719","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/01455613241279719","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/01455613241279719","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T18:35:33Z","timestamp":1777401333000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/01455613241279719"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,12]]},"references-count":30,"alternative-id":["10.1177\/01455613241279719"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/01455613241279719","relation":{},"ISSN":["0145-5613","1942-7522"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0145-5613","type":"print"},{"value":"1942-7522","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,12]]},"article-number":"01455613241279719"}}