Universal neonatal hearing screening program at a university hospital: an analysis using quality indicators

Audrei Thayse Viegel De Avila,Luíza Silva Vernier,Adriana Laybauer Silveira,Adriane Ribeiro Teixeira

doi:10.1590/1982-0216/20212344421

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: to assess the universal neonatal hearing screening program using quality indicators. Methods: the records of newborns who were submitted to the neonatal hearing screening in 2018 were analyzed, comparing the data with the first five quality indicators established by the national guideline for neonatal hearing screening attention: 1) rate of screening coverage (≥95%); 2) age at the screening in months (up to the first month of life); 3) rate of referrals for diagnosis (2% to 4%); 4) rate of attendance to diagnostic examination (≥90%); 5) age at confirmed diagnosis (up to the third month of life). The data were submitted to quantitative and descriptive statistical analysis. Results: the rate of coverage, age at screening, and the number of referrals for diagnosis met the indicators established by the national guideline. The rate of attendance to diagnostic examination fell short of the expected, and the age at confirmed diagnosis was verified in 70% of the cases. Conclusion: using the quality indicators furnished important data on the effectiveness of the neonatal hearing screening program and identified opportunities to improve the service, which can help identify hearing loss, early.

Highlights

The Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS) is an integral part of the health care network for people with a disability and mother and child attention
This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the Clinics Hospital of Porto Alegre (HCPA), Brazil, under protocol number 2019.0277 and Certificate of Presentation for Ethical Appraisal (CAAE) 12679318000005327
The inclusion criteria were as follows: all medical records of live NBs at the hospital, in the period covered by the study, who were submitted to UNHS

Summary

Introduction

The Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS) is an integral part of the health care network for people with a disability and mother and child attention. The objective of the UNHS programs is to detect hearing loss (HL), early, and once identified, promote timely hearing rehabilitation[1,2]. The importance of detecting abnormal hearing early lies in the fact that the maturation of the central auditory nervous system up to the brainstem occurs in the first years of life. This period is essential to auditory and language development because that is when most neural connections take place[3]. Identifying HL early favors communication development[2,4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion