15th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 13-15, 2016 • San Diego, CA

| - | 6 - Follow-up, Tracking and Data Management

Trying Everything: Oregon’s Efforts Leading to Improvement in Loss to Follow-Up

National newborn hearing screening rates are a huge success--97.2% receive a hearing shortly after birth. However, failure to follow-up after referral on screening remains a barrier to the success of EHDI programs in many states. Per 2013 CDC HSFS, little more than half of referred babies (58.7%) obtained documented follow-up, with 32.2% lost to follow-up (LFU). In Oregon, the LFU rate has hovered near 50% for several years. In 2013, it improved to 29%. Oregon, like other states, has a combination of factors that contribute to the loss to follow-up (LFU) rate: geographic barriers, family and provider misconceptions, and documentation shortcomings. To reduce the LFU rate, Oregon EHDI staff implemented a variety of strategies: (1) adjusting staff focus to prioritize babies yet to follow-up while still monitoring those 'in process”; (2) hiring a staff audiologist; (3) developing efficient protocols for reducing loss-to-documentation with audiologists; (4) improving and increasing timely communications with families and providers; and (5) refining and using an already robust and flexible data system. While calculating the impact of each strategy on the 20% LFU improvement is not possible, each benefitted the program without introducing significant administrative burden. Several strategies streamlined existing processes, allowing staff to provide just-in-time communication with families that make a difference in their lives as well as the state’s statistics.

Describe various strategies used to reduce LFU
Integrate new LFU reduction strategies into their state’s EHDI program
Explain the value of a robust, yet flexible, data system in identifying areas of weakness in access follow-up or incomplete reporting

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Presenters/Authors

Shelby Atwill (Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,Author), Oregon EHDI Program, shelby.atwill@gmail.com;
Shelby earned her Doctorate of Audiology (AuD) at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is a LEND Pediatric Audiology Fellow, and completed a full-time pediatric audiology externship at The Moog Center in St Louis. Shelby serves as an audiology consultant to the Oregon Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) team, after spending two years as a EHDI program staff audiologist.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exist.

Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.

Heather Morrow-Almeida (Co-Presenter,Author), Oregon EHDI Program, heather.r.morrow-almeida@state.or.us;
Heather Morrow-Almeida currently works in the Maternal and Child Health Section of the Center for Prevention and Health Promotion as a Systems and Policy Analyst and the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Coordinator. Prior to joining the Division of Public Health, she completed the Public Health Prevention Service Fellowship with the CDC. During the fellowship, she was assigned to the Cowlitz County Health Department in Washington State for two years and spent a year in Atlanta working for both the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination and the Built Environment Team in the National Center for Environmental Health. During the fellowship, she worked on the National Tuberculosis Indicators Project, Health Impact Assessment, sexual health programs, and community environmental health initiatives, along with other management and evaluation experiences. Heather completed her Master in Public Health degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the Maternal and Child Health Department.