Medical Science
Volume 24, Issue 105, September - October, 2020
Knowledge and Attitudes of School Teachers toward Hearing Problems with Students in General Elementary Schools in Makkah, 2019
Abdullah F. AlOtaibi1♦, Hisham Abdulsalam Bashawri2, Hind Furaij AlOtaibi3, Ali H. Alqahtani4, Ahmed S. Alzahrani5, Moteab Sayer AlOtaibi6
1Public Health Administration, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2Consultant Family and Public Health, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
3Family Medicine, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
4Public Health Administration, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5Preventive medicine department, Armed Forced Hospital, Medina, Saudi Arabia
6Community Medicine (Preventive Medicine), Ministry of National Guard, Saudi Arabia
♦Corresponding author
Public Health Administration, Ministry of Health,
Makkah, Saudi Arabia;
Email: a.f.1990tb@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
2Consultant Family and Public Health, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
3Family Medicine, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
4Public Health Administration, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5Preventive medicine department, Armed Forced Hospital, Medina, Saudi Arabia
6Community Medicine (Preventive Medicine), Ministry of National Guard, Saudi Arabia
Public Health Administration, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Email: a.f.1990tb@gmail.com
Background: Schoolteachers can play a significant role in maintaining and improving student’s health. Hearing loss causes delays in
speech and language, which often result in poor school performance. Objectives: To identify the level of knowledge and attitude of
elementary school teachers in Makkah toward hearing problems in children in the classroom setting. Subjects and methods:
Analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2019 to December 2019 among 390 of elementary schoolteachers working
in governmental schools, in Makkah. Self-administered Arabic questionnaire was used. It includes demographic and professional
criteria, knowledge of teachers regarding children with hearing problems and their attitudes towards children with hearing
problems. Results: The study included 390 teachers. Their age ranged from 26 to 60. Only 4.9% expressed good level of knowledge
about hearing problems. Younger, lowest income, more qualified teachers, computer sciences and special education teachers, those
having a degree in special education, lower experienced, had ≤20 students in a class, teaching students with hearing problems, who
had currently students with hearing problems, and had currently students using hearing aids were more knowledgeable about
children`s hearing problems compared to their counterparts. Overall, 14.6% of teachers had positive attitude towards children with
hearing problems. The most obstacles the teachers feel that the students with hearing loss may suffer in classroom were
bullying/ignorance, communications, and educational process. Most of the teachers recommended -as the most appropriate
educational placement for DHH students-residential institute and special schools for deaf students. Conclusion: Knowledge and
attitude of elementary school teachers in Makkah regarding hearing problems was mostly poor-intermediate.
Keywords: school teachers, student’s health, hearing problems
Medical Science, 2020, 24(105), 2900-2917
