17th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 18-20, 2018 • Denver, CO
| Maryland EHDI Pilot Program: WIC Clinic Hearing Screenings
Maryland EHDI Pilot Program: WIC Clinic Hearing Screenings
In the State of Maryland only 43% of infants who fail initial hearing screenings receive diagnostic evaluations by the recommended 3-month timeline. To increase this percentage, the Maryland Department of Health and the University of Maryland School of Nursing created a pilot program in a large Maryland WIC Clinic offering hearing diagnostics/screenings to infants in conjunction with scheduled appointments. The goals for this pilot were an improved loss to follow-up (LFT) rate and age of hearing diagnosis for this population.
University of Maryland School of Audiology students performed OAEs and ABRs on six scheduled clinic days from November 20th through December 11th 2017. Parents were encouraged by WIC staff to drop in for hearing testing during their regularly scheduled WIC appointments. Education of staff was performed prior to the intervention to ensure staff understanding and buy-in. Infant names were checked in the Maryland OZ database prior to testing to determine prior hearing testing and status. OAE hearing screenings/re-screenings were done on any willing non-NICU infant who missed/failed initial hearing screening in the hospital. In addition, screening ABRs were done on any newborn who failed hearing re-screening, former NICU infants, and any infant/child with risk factors or parental concerns for hearing loss.
At the conclusion of the pilot study, a total of 39 infants/children were seen by the students and 21 of these were tested for hearing deficits. Of the 21 who were tested, eight were high-risk for hearing loss due to NICU or ototoxic medication exposure. All eight were greater than 3 months of age and none had been re-evaluated since hospital discharge. The remaining 13 children were screened due to parent concerns for hearing difficulties. 18 of 21 passed their testing by UMD students and required no further follow-up. Three infants had marginal pass results and require further monitoring due to risk factors. This pilot program is scheduled to continue in Spring 2018 with probable expansion into other Maryland WIC clinics.
- To improve percentage of infants receiving follow-up hearing testing by 3 months of age.
- To test pilot program for performing hearing testing within a Maryland WIC clinic.
- To create an interdisciplinary partnership between the Maryland Department of Health, the University of Maryland School of Nursing and the University of Maryland School of Audiology.
Presentation:
15805_8227AllisonBoyer.pdf
Handouts:
15805_8227AllisonBoyer.docx
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Allison Boyer
(), University of Maryland, allison.boyer@umaryland.edu;
Allison Boyer, BSN, CCRN has been a nurse for 7 years in a variety of critical care settings and also a full time student in the University of Maryland's Family Nurse Practitioner program. Allison is in her final year of her Doctor of Nursing Practice, expected graduation May 2018. She has always had an interest in public health and primary care initiatives and has used this interest to launch an interdisciplinary pilot program to improve the EHDI program in Maryland.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
Has a Institutional ( Student)
relationship for Other volunteer activities.
Nicole Nguyen
(), University of Maryland, nknguyen@umd.edu;
Nicole Nguyen, Au.D., CISC, CCC-A
Associate Clinical Professor
Director of Clinical Education in Audiology
University of Maryland
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -