STRATEGIC ISSUES IN NEWBORN HEARING SCREENING PROGRAMS PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

Tognola G (1), Tavartkiladze G (2),  Grandori F(1).

(1) CNR Institute of Biomedical Engineering,Milan, Italy; (2) National Research Centre for Audiology and Hearing Rehabilitation, Moscow, Russia.

This work will present the main strategic issues related to Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) planning and implementation. The principles of all programs are based on their justification, assessment of screening performance and the prevalence and impact of newborn diseases and disorders. Recommendations for national NHS programs have to consider the information on screening systems currently used in each country, current screening methods, result interpretation, personnel/equipment requirements for newborn hearing screening, system performance and future technological options. Special attention must be given to NHS programs for the developing countries and the development of protocols for rural/community based screening. Screening from an economic viewpoint is influenced by measures of benefit (age and life expectancy, needs of the society, direct, indirect, value of quality of life), necessity of efficacy, economic parameters (value added, sinking fund, depreciation, discount rate, etc.), global effect on local family unit, local community, region, nation, world. The ethics of screening and communicating with parents is very important component of the program. It includes parent perspectives, their empathetic understanding, involvements into the screening and diagnostic process: NHS programs have to be followed by paediatrician’s assessment and preferably by newborn metabolic and genetic screening. Integrated health care and data systems have valuable impact on screening success. The follow-up strategies must be considered as an integral part of each NHS program. To improve the effectiveness of the follow-up the development of standardized algorithms for follow-up testing and monitoring of follow up results is recommended. The final stage of screening is early intervention.

Email: gabriella.tognola@polimi.it