2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/15/2022 | 12:00 PM - 12:25 PM | Factors Contributing to Late Identification of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Children in Louisiana | Room 5
Factors Contributing to Late Identification of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Children in Louisiana
To ensure children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing (D/HH) receive supports they need to reach their full potential, it is imperative that they be identified as early as possible. EHDI benchmarks stipulate children who are D/HH be enrolled in early intervention no later than 6 months of age. Nationwide, of children born in 2019 and identified as D/HH, only 45% enrolled into early intervention services by 6 months of age. A major barrier to this goal is that many children are not identified by 6 months of age, precluding early enrollment. We reviewed records of children identified as D/HH in Louisiana after 6 months of age for birth cohorts 2015-2020 to determine factors contributing to the late identification. Cases were removed from the analysis if a diagnosis after 6 months was unavoidable, primarily for children with one of the following reasons: 1) passed initial hearing screening, 2) referred initial hearing screening/passed follow-up rescreening or diagnostic evaluation, 3) medically fragile, or 4) born out of state and birth record not registered in Louisiana. The remaining cases were examined in-depth after it was determined that a diagnosis was attainable by 6 months of age. For each case, factors contributing to the late identification were evaluated and assigned to three broad categories: 1) family, 2) provider, or 3) hospital. Results of the analysis revealed that nearly half of late identifications were due to families not completing recommended testing, while provider errors or mismanagement accounted for over a quarter of late identifications. Hospital errors accounted for a smaller proportion of cases. In approximately one-quarter of cases, late identifications were attributable to more than one category. Year by year analysis indicated the proportion of late identifications due to families has increased over time, while the proportions due to provider and hospital errors has decreased.
- Identify the percentage of D/HH children in Louisiana who are identified after 6 months of age.
- List the 3 main sources or contributing factors to D/HH children being late-identified in Louisiana.
- Describe how the sources contributing to D/HH children being late-identified in Louisiana has changed over the 6-year period evaluated.
Presentation:
3353554_15060DanielleMercer.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Danielle Mercer
(InPerson), Louisiana OPH EHDI Program, danielle.mercer@la.gov;
Danielle Mercer, AuD
System Development Coordinator
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Tri Tran
(), Louisiana Office of Public Health, EHDI Program, tri.tran@la.gov;
Tri Tran, MD, MPH
Senior Epidemiologist
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Dawne McCabe
(), Louisiana OPH EHDI Program, dawne.mccabe@la.gov;
Dawne McCabe, BS
Data Coordinator
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Terri Ibieta
(), Louisiana OPH EHDI Program, terri.ibieta@la.gov;
Terri Ibieta, M.Ed.
LA EHDI Program Coordinator
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.