Mr Chhoung Heng Lim1, Dr Zeffie Poulakis1,2,3, Ms Alison Jagger1,2, Dr Melinda Barker1,2,3, Ms Felicity Hood1,2, Ms Kate Francis3,4, A/Prof Valerie Sung1,3,5, Dr Jane Sheehan1,2
1Population Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville , Australia, 2Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program, Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Australia , 3Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 4Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville , Australia , 5Department of General Medicine & Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Parkville , Australia
Objective: This paper aims to provide a description of the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP), a universal newborn hearing screening program in Victoria, Australia, and evaluate program performance between 2015 and 2020 against benchmarks based on national (National Framework) and international (Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) best practice guidelines.
Study design and scope: Descriptive review of program functioning and retrospective analysis of population screening records. Study sample: Babies born between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2020.
Results: VIHSP screened 468,449 babies between 2015 and 2020, equating to approximately 78,000 births annually, using a two-stage automated auditory brainstem response (ABR) stimulus. Of the population eligible for screening, 98.9% (benchmark ≥ 97%) completed screening by one month corrected age. The average positive screen (i.e., refer) rate during the study period was 0.8% (benchmark < 4%). Overall, 97.8% (benchmark > 90%) the families of babies referred to the VIHSP Early Support Service were contacted within three business days, and 96.3% (benchmark > 90%) of referred babies commenced diagnostic audiology by three months of age. The yield of bilateral moderate-profound permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI, VIHSP target condition) following the hearing screen was 0.85 per 1000 babies. The overall positive predictive value (PPV) was 10.8% (1 in 9). For bilateral PCHI, the average median age for key benchmarks along the hearing diagnosis and intervention pathway, across the six-year period was: (i) 0.9 months at commencement of diagnostic audiology assessment; (ii) 2.5 months at hearing aid fitting; (iii) 4.1 months at enrolment in early intervention; and (iv) 10.7 months at cochlear implantation.
Conclusion: VIHSP uses a two-stage automated ABR screening protocol with high coverage, and an acceptable positive predictive value (for detection of the VIHSP target condition). VIHSP consistently met or exceeded all benchmarks based on best practice guidelines during the study period.
Biography:
Chhoung Heng Lim holds a master degree in Public Health from the University of Melbourne. Currently, he is a Research Associate at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. He is working on a project to write a paper that describes the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP), and conduct a retrospective study of its performance. His email is heng.lim@mcri.edu.au