Expanding the Role of Educational Audiologists After a Failed Newborn Hearing Screening: A Quality Improvement Study
| Autor: | Tammy O'Hollearn, Jonathan Stirn, Elizabeth A. Walker, Caitlin Sapp |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Quality management Audiology Hearing screening 03 medical and health sciences Speech and Hearing 0302 clinical medicine Neonatal Screening Hearing 030225 pediatrics Intervention (counseling) otorhinolaryngologic diseases Medicine Humans 030223 otorhinolaryngology Child Research Articles business.industry Hearing Tests Infant Newborn Infant Quality Improvement United States Auditory brainstem response business Audiologists |
| Zdroj: | Am J Audiol |
| Popis: | Purpose Lack of timely and proximal access to diagnostic hearing evaluation using auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing hampers the effectiveness of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs in the United States. This study measured the impact of a state-based quality-improvement (QI) project that provided diagnostic ABR equipment and training to educational audiologists distributed throughout Iowa in regional special education centers. Method We used de-identified administrative data generated by the state EHDI program to analyze markers of access to early hearing health care for infants in a preproject condition (“Baseline”) compared to the implementation of diagnostic ABRs at the regional special education centers (“QI Project”). Results Our findings revealed that the QI Project was associated with improvements in timeliness of first hearing evaluation, distance traveled for first hearing evaluation, and likelihood of receiving on-guideline audiology care during the first hearing evaluation. Conclusions Following the onset of the QI Project, infants and their families had greater access to initial hearing evaluation after failed newborn hearing screening. This improvement could have cascading effects on timeliness of later intervention among those with confirmed permanent childhood hearing loss. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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