15th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 13-15, 2016 • San Diego, CA
| - | 7 - Family Perspectives and Support
Exploring Parental Perception of the Current Newborn Hearing Screening Program: A Literature Review
Introduction: Early research pertaining to the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) program emphasized the quantifiable speech and language improvements provided by early identification and intervention. These quantifiable improvements provided solid evidence to support UNHS when many were doubtful of its need or whether the benefit outweighed the financial and familial emotional cost.
Rationale: On March 10, 2015, congressional members Guthrie and Capps introduced a bill to re-authorize the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act after expiration at the end of the year (2015). The EHDI Act is responsible for providing Federal funding to states to implement and sustain UNHS and early intervention programs. Continued support of EHDI may change as the United States healthcare system is shifting from a fee-for-service to a value-based care reimbursement approach which includes patient satisfaction results. As such, parental experience attributed to early detection will be an important factor influencing continued support for EHDI programs nationally.
Method: Literature regarding parental perception of, and experiences with, the UNHS Program was identified using the following terms to obtain relevant full-text articles; newborn hearing screening, parent, perception, experience, and hearing loss. The search was further reduced to articles published from 2001-present due to the emergence of newborn hearing screening as a universal measure.
Conclusion: Results of a comprehensive literature review regarding parental perceptions of the UNHS program was overwhelmingly supportive of the measure. However, we found the following issues to be ongoing challenges to UNHS and follow-up: Professional communication, delays in services, and delineation of screening from diagnostic measures. Professional communication was the most potent factor affecting a family’s experience. Clinicians with poor communication and interpersonal skills were most significant to produce negative experiences with the UNHS program. Ultimately, efforts to standardize and improve professional communication will be an important step toward improving the UNHS program.
- Identify key elements affecting the perception of and experience with the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening as described by parents
- Identify ways to improve/standardize professional communication of those involved in the UNHS or early intervention
Presentation:
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Presenters/Authors
Brittany James
(Primary Presenter,Author), Mailman Center for Child Development, Brittany-e-james@uiowa.edu;
Brittany James, M.A., is a 4th year extern and LEND trainee at the Mailman Center for Child Development in Miami Florida, and a 2016 Au.D. candidate from the University of Iowa.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Lenore Holte
(Author), Univ of Iowa Communication Sciences and Disorders, lenore-holte@uiowa.edu;
Lenore Holte, PhD, CCC-A, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Department of Pediatrics and serves as director of speech-language-pathology and audiology services at the Center for Disabilities and Development. She also provides audiological technical assistance to the Iowa Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program. Dr. Holte's professional background is primarily in pediatric audiology, newborn hearing screening and hearing assessment of individuals with disabilities. Her role in the OCHL study includes recruitment of families through cooperation with the Iowa EHDI team and development and conduct of test protocols
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.