Children's Hearing Health Panorama in the Unified Health System in the state of Sergipe

To describe the panorama of children's hearing health in the Unified Health System of the state of Sergipe.

A quantitative and retrospective study consisting of four steps: 1) Search the National Registry of Health Establishments of institutions affiliated to the Health Unic System in the state of Sergipe that perform obstetric services and hearing health services; 2) Collecting Neonatal Hearing Screening (NHS) coverage data through DATASUS (from 2012 to 2020); 3) Data collection from medical records of institutions with obstetrics and that perform NHS; and 4) Interview with the guardians of children undergoing auditory rehabilitation. The results were summarized using descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequency, measures of central tendency, and dispersion).

Only one out of the 29 establishments with obstetrics performs NHS. Two of the Hearing Health Reference Centers (HHRC) are qualified for cochlear implants and two Specialized Centers are qualified for Rehabilitation. From 2012 to 2020, NHS coverage in the state was less than 40%, and when performed in the maternity ward, there were no referrals for Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BERA) and audiological diagnosis. The HHRC showed considerable coverage and a lower evasion rate to perform BERA, with a diagnosis rate of 4.8%. The mean time from the NHS to rehabilitation was longer than recommended.

NHS coverage must be increased, adjusting the hearing health network to articulate the different levels of care, and reducing the time for identification, diagnosis, and start of rehabilitation.