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Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
A case study of an emerging community-based early hearing detection and intervention program: part I. Parents'
Jeffrey L Danhauer1, Carole E Johnson
1University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. danhauer@speech.ucsb.edu
Insights
Parental compliance for infant hearing screening was excellent, but follow-through for intervention services needs improvement. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for babies with hearing loss.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Public health programs
- Early intervention services
Background:
- Community-based early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs are emerging.
- Parental compliance is key to the success of EHDI programs.
- Understanding compliance at various service levels is essential for program assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parental compliance in accessing services for infants within an EHDI program.
- To examine compliance across five distinct stages, from referral to follow-up.
- To identify potential barriers or facilitators to service utilization.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 51 infants referred from a hospital newborn hearing screening program.
- Data collected over a 3-year period (March 2000 - February 2003).
- Compliance defined as parents following professional recommendations and appointments for hearing healthcare.
Main Results:
- 100% compliance for initial inpatient and outpatient rescreening.
- All parents of infants diagnosed with hearing loss complied, with diagnosis by 3 months and intervention by 6 months.
- Compliance decreased during the referral process; only 50% of eligible infants received hearing aids and habilitative intervention by 6 months.
Conclusions:
- Initial and follow-up hearing screening compliance met national benchmarks.
- Significant room for improvement exists in parental compliance for intervention services.
- Optimizing the referral and intervention pathway is critical for maximizing EHDI program effectiveness.
Purpose:
This is the first of a 2-part series of articles that describe and assess an emerging community-based early hearing detection and intervention program. This study investigated parents' compliance for accessing services for their infants at 5 levels in the process from referrals through subsequent follow-up during a 3-year period. Compliance was defined as parents' follow-through with professionals' recommendations and appointments for their infants' hearing health care.
Method:
Investigators retrospectively reviewed the charts of 51 infants who were referred from a regional hospital's newborn hearing screening program to a private practice office and were seen from March 2000 to February 2003.
Results:
Compliance was 100% for initial hospital inpatient screening and for outpatient rescreening but decreased throughout the referral process. All of the parents of babies with hearing loss complied, and their infants were diagnosed by age 3 months and received audiologic or otologic intervention by age 6 months. Only half of those who needed and opted for hearing aids complied and began habilitative intervention by age 6 months.
Conclusions:
Although compliance for initial and follow-up screening was excellent and met goals for national benchmarks, compliance for intervention services showed room for improvement.
