Current state of knowledge: implications for developmental research--key issues

This is the final article in a series of five review articles and one editorial that summarizes the proceedings of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders workshop on Outcomes Research in Children with Hearing Loss held December 12 and 13, 2006. The purpose of this article is to highlight the recommendations that emerged during the workshop, addressing the developmental needs of children with hearing impairment. The information in this summary is based on the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders workshop minutes available at http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/funding/programs/hb/outcomes/recommendations.htm. General research issues focus on funding mechanisms, access to a sufficient population, experimental cohorts and control groups, research methods and outcomes, standardization of testing across agencies and intervention programs, and facilitating access to data. Discussion of those issues is followed by an outline that presents future needs in outcomes research, including research design, sources of variance, research needs and gaps, and development of measurement tools.