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Outcomes of Universal Newborn Screening Programs: Systematic Review
Christine Yoshinaga-Itano1, Vinaya Manchaiah2, Cynthia Hunnicutt1
1Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 594, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Insights
Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) identifies permanent congenital hearing loss (PCHL) early, leading to better language development and cost-effectiveness. Early intervention significantly improves outcomes for children with PCHL.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Audiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Systematic review on universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) outcomes for permanent congenital hearing loss (PCHL).
- Examined age of identification, intervention, developmental outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and parental effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of UNHS in improving outcomes for infants with PCHL.
- To assess the cost-effectiveness and parental impact of UNHS.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of multiple electronic databases and other literature sources.
- Included 30 eligible reports from 14 populations, encompassing 7,325,138 screened infants.
- Compared outcomes of screened vs. unscreened infants and those identified through other programs.
Main Results:
- UNHS significantly lowers the age of identification, amplification, and early intervention initiation.
- Early identification via UNHS is linked to better language and literacy development, particularly in younger children.
- UNHS is cost-effective and does not result in significant parental harm.
Conclusions:
- UNHS programs in developed countries yield significantly better outcomes for children identified early.
- Early language development facilitated by UNHS predicts later literacy and overall language proficiency.
Background:
This systematic review examined the outcomes (age of identification and intervention, developmental outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and adverse effects on parents) of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) for children with permanent congenital hearing loss (PCHL).
Materials And Methods:
Multiple electronic databases were interrogated in March and April 2020 with further reports identified from article citations and unpublished literature. UNHS reports in English with comparisons of outcomes of infants who were not screened, and infants identified through other hearing screening programs.
Results:
30 eligible reports from 14 populations with 7,325,138 infants screened through UNHS from 1616 non-duplicate references were included. UNHS results in a lower age of identification, amplification, and the initiation of early intervention services and better language/literacy development. Better speech perception/production were shown in younger, but not in older, children with early identification after UNHS. No significant findings were found for behavior problems and quality of life. UNHS was found to be cost-effective in terms of savings to society. In addition, no significant parental harm was noted as a result of UNHS.
Conclusions:
In highly developed countries, significantly better outcomes were found for children identified early through UNHS programs. Early language development predicts later literacy and language development.
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