School-Based Hearing Conservation Programs for Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review

The aim of this scoping review was to examine key elements of school-based hearing conservation programs (HCPs) for children and adolescents, with a focus on intervention program components, delivery strategies, outcome measures, and reported results. This review serves as a preliminary step in developing an HCP for children and adolescents.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, four bibliographic databases were searched to identify relevant articles. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts against the eligibility criteria, seven studies were included in the review.

The included studies addressed a range of themes, several of which were informed by health behavior theories. Most interventions were conducted in classroom settings by members of the research team. These interventions typically comprised one or two sessions of less than 60 min, using various delivery methods. Outcomes were assessed primarily through questionnaires, with study designs commonly following a pretest-intervention-posttest format; some studies also incorporated short-term follow-up assessments. Findings revealed that older students showed more resistance to behavior change.

Program effectiveness was strongly associated with multiple, repeated intervention sessions; various delivery modalities; and long-term follow-up. Moreover, early intervention is particularly important, as younger children demonstrate better long-term retention than adolescents.