2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
3/18/2024 | 3:10 PM - 3:35 PM | Improving Detection of Hearing Loss in Rural Communities through Tele-Audiology | Mineral Hall D/E
Improving Detection of Hearing Loss in Rural Communities through Tele-Audiology
Utah has been providing tele-audiology specifically, auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing for rural/frontier communities, since 2012. In collaboration with University of Utah researchers, a study was conducted that evaluated time to diagnostic evaluation for tele-audiology vs in-person ABR testing for babies failing newborn hearing screening at one rural hospital. The study also looked at demographic factors that affected 3-month EHDI milestone attainment. Participants in the tele-ABR group were more likely than chance to be non-White, indicating this modality may help minority groups in rural areas achieve timely diagnostic hearing testing.
- Describe how a tele-audiology program was implemented at a rural Utah hospital
- Compare the outcomes of in-person testing versus tele-ABR testing in time to diagnose hearing loss in a rural Utah region
- List benefits to offering tele-ABRs in rural areas
Presentation:
3478265_16457ShannonWnek.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
3478265_16457ShannonWnek.docx
Presenters/Authors
Shannon Wnek
(Primary Presenter,Author), Utah Dept of Health and Human Services, swnek@utah.gov;
Dr. Wnek is the Utah Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Audiology Coordinator, responsible for providing audiological and programmatic support to birthing facilities, hospital audiologists and midwives across the state. In addition, she regularly completes Quality Assurance activities and is considered the “Utah EHDI Compliance Officer”. Clinically, Dr. Wnek graduated with her Doctor of Audiology from the University of Utah in 2009 and is a pediatric audiologist at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Children with Special Healthcare Needs Office. She is a graduate of the URLEND (Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) program with a special emphasis on Infant and Pediatric Audiology. Her interests include early identification of hearing loss, quality assurance and improvement, tele-ABRs and supporting families of children with special healthcare needs.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Stephanie Browning McVicar
(Co-Author), Utah Department of Health and Human Services, smcvicar@utah.gov;
Dr. Stephanie Browning McVicar is the Director of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program, the Children’s Hearing Aid Program, and the Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Public Health Initiative in Utah. She works for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services' Children with Special Health Care Needs Office in Salt Lake City. Dr. McVicar is a pediatric audiologist, an advocate for CMV testing in newborns, and passionate about the prevention of congenital CMV infection. She was instrumental in the creation of the Utah EHDI tele-audiology program. She is originally from Western New York and has extensive experience and knowledge in Audiology and the management of health care programs in both the public and private sectors.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Jenny Pedersen
(Co-Author), Utah Department of Health and Human Services, jpedersen@utah.gov;
Dr. Jenny Pedersen has been an audiologist for 17 years, splitting her time between the Jordan School District and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). At DHHS, Dr. Pedersen is the Hearing Aid Programs Coordinator, serving needy children and their families. She also is a pediatric audiologist providing tele-audiology for rural and frontier infants failing newborn hearing screening. In addition to being a longstanding member of the Utah EHDI team, Dr. Pedersen provides monthly audiology services at a community health clinic for underserved families in Salt Lake City.
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Max Sidesinger
(Co-Author), Utah Department of Health and Human Services, msidesinger@utah.gov;
Max Sidesinger, MPH, is the CMV data coordinator and an epidemiologist for Utah’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program. He collects information on every CMV test completed on a child under 1 year of age in Utah, per the state Communicable Disease Rule, and works with providers and families to ensure CMV testing for children who fall under Utah's CMV Public Education and Testing Mandate. Max provides analyses for both CMV and EHDI related data. He has collaborated with researchers at the University of Utah on multiple newborn hearing-related projects, with the CDC on a pilot surveillance project for cCMV, and with the CSTE on a position statement for standardized cCMV surveillance. Max received his BS in biology and Masters in public health from the University of Utah. His career interest is in using epidemiological methods to address public health needs.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Stephanie Merrell
(Co-Author), Uintah Basin Healthcare, stephanie_merrell@ubh.org;
Stephanie Merrell was the nurse manager for labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn nursery at Uintah Basin Medical Center (UBMC) in Roosevelt, Utah for over 20 years. She loves being a nurse and the joy of helping mothers bring a new baby into the world. She worked hard to bring TeleHealth: Newborn Critical Care and Tele-Audiology to UBMC. Her goal is to keep babies with their moms at UBMC and avoid a 150 miles trip to the city for a newborn ABR test.
Stephanie earned her Associates of Science in nursing from Weber State University, her Bachelor of Science degree from University of Phoenix, and her Masters of Science in nursing from Westerns Governors University. As a wife and mother of four, Stephanie loves to spend her free time with her family sitting on a beach reading a murder mystery and drinking a cold Coke.
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Eliza Broadbent
(Co-Author), University of Utah School of Medicine, Eliza.Broadbent@hsc.utah.edu ;
Eliza Broadbent is a third-year medical student at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a master’s degree in public health from Brigham Young University. She is interested in bridging the gap between population health and clinical practice in order to reduce health disparities and promote the health of communities.
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Albert Park
(Co-Author), University of Utah, albert.park@hsc.utah.edu;
Albert Park, MD, serves as the section chief of pediatric otolaryngology and professor within the Department of Surgery and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah. Dr. Park obtained his MD at the Washington University School of Medicine. He then completed his residency training at Loyola University Medical Center and pediatric otolaryngology fellowship training at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. His primary research interest focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) induced hearing loss and developing novel assays for diagnosis.
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Zackery Hansen
(Co-Author), University of Utah School of Medicine, zackery.hansen@hsc.utah.edu;
Zack Hansen is an MD candidate, 2024, at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He has been active in research projects of interest to EHDI.
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