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ABSTRACT INFORMATION
Title: 'Audiologic Services for Children with Down Syndrome in Massachusetts'
Track: 2-Audiological Assessment and Intervention
Keyword(s): Down Syndrome, Hearing Loss
Learning Objectives: Describe the proportion of children with Down Syndrome (DS) in Massachusetts that receive timely newborn hearing screenings (NHS) and audiologic diagnostic services (ADS).

Abstract:

Nationally, approximately 1 in 700 infants are born with DS. It is estimated that as many as 80% of children with DS have hearing loss (HL). These prevalence estimates vary widely, underscoring the need to ensure early hearing detection and intervention among children with DS. We used statewide births from the Massachusetts Childhood Hearing Data System to estimate NHS and ADS timeliness as well as HL prevalence among all children with DS, born in 2004-2008. Among children with DS, 358 (95.7%) received a NHS compared to 76,747 (99.1%) of children born in 2008 without DS. Of the children with DS that received a NHS, 110 (30.7%) failed their screen, while 1,380 (1.8%) of children without DS failed. Children with DS were 7.3 times more likely to receive a NHS after the recommended one month of age compared to children without DS (95% CI: 5.0-10.5). Among children with DS, 88 (23.5%) had HL compared to 217 (0.3%) of children without DS. Children with DS were 11.8 times more likely to have HL than children without DS (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.7-17.9). However, only 155 (41.4%) of all children with DS received ADS. Thus, children with DS are significantly more likely than children without DS to have HL, but majority of these children are not receiving ADS. In addition, children with DS were 3.3 times more likely to receive ADS after the recommend three months of age than children without DS (95% CI: 2.4-4.4). Hearing loss can delay critical speech and language acquisition among children with DS, inhibiting communication, intellectual development and socialization. The findings of this study can be used to inform medical home policies related to timely NHS and ADS for children with DS.
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SPEAKER INFORMATION
PRESENTER(S):
Rashmi Dayalu - Massachusetts Department of Public Health
     Credentials: MPH
      Rashmi Dayalu, MPH, BS is the Epidemiologist for the Massachusetts Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program. She is responsible for data collection, quality assurance, analysis, interpretation and dissemination to federal and state partners. Rashmi received her MPH in Epidemiology in 2007 with a concentration in Global Health from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received her undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington, Seattle.
 
AUTHOR(S):
Rashmi Dayalu - Massachusetts Department of Public Health
     Credentials: MPH
      BIO: Rashmi Dayalu, MPH, BS is the Epidemiologist for the Massachusetts Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program. She is responsible for data collection, quality assurance, analysis, interpretation and dissemination to federal and state partners. Rashmi received her MPH in Epidemiology in 2007 with a concentration in Global Health from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She received her undergraduate degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington, Seattle.