Developing and pre-testing of nutrition cartoon video to promote healthy eating among hearing and deaf and mute children

@#Introduction: A six-minute nutrition cartoon video “The Magical Pinggang Pinoy in Nutrilandia” was developed and pre-tested to encourage hearing and deaf and mute children to eat a variety of foods by following the Pinggang Pinoy® (Healthy Plate). This study described the development process of the nutrition cartoon video and explored the participants’ acceptance towards it. Methods: The video underwent two levels of pre-testing to ensure comprehensibility, attractiveness, acceptability, and self-involvement. The first level was conducted among three DOST-FNRI experts, while the second level was among six deaf-mute school teachers and 30 mothers/ caregivers of 6-9 years old hearing children. Data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire. Open-ended questions allowed participants to express themselves freely on the given subjects. Data analysis used thematic analysis. Results: The video conveyed clear information on the Pinggang Pinoy®, and the inclusion of animation, subtitles, visuals, and voice-over made the video easier to understand. Participants stated that the message of the video was directed to children, teens, adults, malnourished people, and everyone in general. Pre-testing the nutrition cartoon video before final production identified terminologies and concepts that participants found unfamiliar, confusing and unacceptable; offered suggestions for improvement and made pre-tested video appropriate for hearing and deaf-mute children. Conclusion: Overall, the participants had positive perceptions on the nutrition cartoon video. The video can be used in nutrition education classes among hearing and deaf and mute children, and serves as a tool to measure children’s nutrition knowledge on healthy eating.

Hearing organ pathology: possible causes and morbidity rate. Features of the dental status of the patients with hearing impairments

One of the reasons for early tooth loss in the population is dental caries and periodontal diseases. Programs for the prevention of these diseases and delivery of dental care are planned on the basis of a study of dental disease incidence in various groups of the population, including the disadvantaged groups. Russian medical care system is in dire need of socially-oriented assistance to various groups of the country's population. Patients with hearing impairments constitute one of the aforementioned groups. Creating a program for the prevention of dental diseases for people with hearing disabilities is one of the important tasks of dental care. Currently, there are several directions of dental disease prevention: use of fluoride-enriched toothpaste, fluoridation of drinking water, correction of daily rations using foods rich in natural fluorine or artificially enriched with fluorine, and the use of fluoride-containing food additives.

Visual impairment in the hearing impaired students.

Background: Ocular problems are more common in children with hearing problems than in normal children. Neglected visual impairment could aggravate educational and social disability. Aim: To detect and treat visual impairment, if any, in hearing-impaired children. Setting and Design: Observational, clinical case series of hearing-impaired children in schools providing special education. Materials and Methods: Hearing-impaired children in selected schools underwent detailed visual acuity testing, refraction, external ocular examination and fundoscopy. Ocular motility testing was also performed. Teachers were sensitized and trained to help in the assessment of visual acuity using Snellen's E charts. Refractive errors and squint were treated as per standard practice. Statistical Analysis: Excel software was used for data entry and SSPS for analysis. Results: The study involved 901 hearing-impaired students between four and 21 years of age, from 14 special education schools. A quarter of them (216/901, 24%) had ocular problems. Refractive errors were the most common morbidity 167(18.5%), but only 10 children were using appropriate spectacle correction at presentation. Fifty children had visual acuity less than 20/80 at presentation; after providing refractive correction, this number reduced to three children, all of whom were provided low-vision aids. Other common conditions included strabismus in 12 (1.3%) children, and retinal pigmentary dystrophy in five (0.6%) children. Conclusion: Ocular problems are common in hearing-impaired children. Screening for ocular problems should be made mandatory in hearing-impaired children, as they use their visual sense to compensate for the poor auditory sense.