Ms Larissa Ralph1, Ms Sally Higgins1, Ms Felicity Hood1
1Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program, Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Purpose:
To identify contributing factors that prevented babies from completing their hearing screen and to make service delivery improvements that support access.
Nature and Scope:
Several Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP) screening sites showed a trend of increasing numbers of eligible babies born between January 2019 and December 2021 who did not complete hearing screening. Variables, including patient characteristics, local demographics, screening practices, and pandemic orders were reviewed to identify contributing factors. Examination of case notes against patient records identified reasons provided by families. Once contributing factors were determined, this was used to plan improvements for families to increase access.
The Issue:
An uneven distribution of babies who did not complete hearing screening was identified between VIHSP hearing screening sites. Standard policies to engage with families and conduct the hearing screening service apply across the state.
Most babies complete their hearing screen as an inpatient. Therefore, it is more common for babies to not complete hearing screening if they are required to attend an appointment following discharge. The Coronavirus-19 pandemic provided additional challenges.
To improve access and participation in hearing screening, hearing screening programs should increase consumer and community engagement and challenge standard service delivery.
Conclusion:
This review has confirmed that there are several barriers for families to complete their child’s hearing screening. The pandemic highlighted pre-existing inequities of service delivery; particularly for vulnerable families. It was possible to tailor the hearing screening service to respond to the pandemic. This has encouraged a focus on longer term changes to meet local needs and provide more equitable access.
Biography:
Larissa Ralph and Sally Higgins are Senior Area Managers with the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP). Larissa and Sally have over 35 years of combined healthcare management experience, across both private and public sectors, leading high performing teams. VIHSP screens the hearing of newborn babies in their first weeks of life. Larissa and Sally oversee program delivery at over 50 maternity services that account for approximately 58,000 births per year. The program aims to promote early detection and intervention to improve outcomes for babies with hearing loss.