Abstract
Aim: To assess the effectiveness of parental entries regarding functional hearing in the Child Health and Development Record(CHDR), in patients with severe to profound hearing loss, and detection of the hearing issues by the public health midwife(PHM). Material and Method: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among parents/caregivers of children with severe to profound hearing loss who underwent cochlear implantation before the age of 5 years from 01.01.2017 to 31.12. 2018 at Lady Ridgeway hospital for children, Sri Lanka. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used based on the hearing assessment in CHDR. Results: The age of the mother at the birth of the index child spans from 17years to 50 years. Majority( 64.1% ) had another child older to the index child. The majority were diagnosed between 18-24 months. The age of cochlear implantation spans from 9 months upto 5 years. Average waiting period was 2 years. The correct entries were observed as follows: 20.8% at birth, 22.7% at 1 month and 22.6% at 4 months, 7 months, 9 months and 12 months respectively. Among those who have not marked or marked incorrectly, 45.9% stated that they couldn't recognise the hearing impairment and 23.4% stated they were reluctant to accept it. Only 4% of these children were referred for further assessment by the PHM. Conclusion: Parental and the PHM’s assessment of a child’s hearing is not a reliable indicator to detect early sensorineural deafness.
Highlights
4% of these children were referred for further assessment by the PHM
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 34 million children suffer from hearing loss
Children whose hearing loss is not corrected before the age of brain development may suffer from permanent impairment of speech and language2,which highlights the importance of detection of hearing impairment by parents or caregivers at a very early stage
Summary
Deafness is considered as one of the most common neglected disabilities and which is worse in developing countries[1]. The Child Health and Development Record (CHDR), which is developed and issued by the Family Health Bureau of the Ministry of Sri Lanka, is the main document in the National Growth Monitoring and Promotion programme for children under 5 years. It is a comprehensive health record which documents an individual child’s health history which includes their growth, immunization, developmental milestones and nutrition from birth till 14 years of age. It is supposed to act as an important tool in identifying auditory issues by health care workers and parents This is issued free of charge to all newborns and a significant portion of the country's health budget is allocated for this record
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