Why parents refuse newborn hearing screening and default on follow-up rescreening : a South African perspective

dc.contributor.authorScheepers, Lucia Jane
dc.contributor.authorSwanepoel, De Wet
dc.contributor.authorLe Roux, Talita
dc.contributor.emaildewet.swanepoel@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-15T08:46:15Z
dc.date.available2014-07-15T08:46:15Z
dc.date.issued2014-04
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVES : This study describes screen refusal and follow-up default characteristics together with caregiver reasons for screen refusal and follow-up default in two South African universal newborn hearing screening programs. METHODS : A retrospective record review of universal newborn hearing screening conducted at two hospitals (Hospital A n = 954 infants; Hospital B n = 2135) over a 31–33 month period. Otoacoustic emission screening was conducted with rescreen recommended within six weeks for a uni- or bilateral refer. Program efficacy was described according to coverage, referral and follow-up rates. A prospective telephonic interview with caregivers who declined the initial screen (n = 25) and who defaulted on follow-up (n = 25) constituted the next study component. Caregivers were randomly selected from the screening programs for a survey related to reasons for newborn hearing screening refusal and follow-up default. RESULTS : Screening coverage (89.3% Hospital A; 57.4% Hospital B), initial referral rates (11.6% Hospital A; 21.2% Hospital B) and follow-up return rates (56.1% Hospital A; 35.8% Hospital B) differed significantly between hospitals and were below benchmarks. The most frequent reasons for screen refusal were related to costs (72%), caregiver knowledge of newborn hearing screening (64%) and health care professional knowledge and team collaboration (16%). Almost all caregivers (96%) indicated that if costs had been included in the birthing package or covered by medical insurance they would have agreed to newborn hearing screening. Reasons for follow-up default were most commonly related to caregiver knowledge of newborn hearing screening (32%) and costs (28%). One in four caregivers (24%) defaulted on follow-up because they forgot to bring their infant for a rescreen. Only half of caregivers (48%) who defaulted on follow-up reported being aware of initial screen results while 60% reported being aware of the recommended follow-up rescreen. CONCLUSION : Caregivers most commonly refused screening due to associated costs and mostly defaulted on follow-up due to an apparent lack of knowledge regarding initial screen outcome and recommendations made for follow-up. Including NHS as a mandated birthing service is essential if coverage is to be increased, while reducing follow-up defaults requires proactive reminders and improved communication with caregiversen_US
dc.description.librarianhb2014en_US
dc.description.urihttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijporlen_US
dc.identifier.citationScheepers, LJ, Swanepoel, DW & Le Roux, T 2014, 'Why parents refuse newborn hearing screening and default on follow-up rescreening : a South African perspective', International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 652-658.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0165-5876 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1872-8464 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.026
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/40748
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.rights© 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, vol. 78 , no.4, pp. 652-658, 2014. doi : 10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.01.026.en_US
dc.subjectUniversal newborn hearing screeningen_US
dc.subjectEarly hearing detection and interventionen_US
dc.subjectDistortion product otoacoustic emissionsen_US
dc.subjectCoverageen_US
dc.subjectScreen refusalen_US
dc.subjectFollow-up defaulten_US
dc.titleWhy parents refuse newborn hearing screening and default on follow-up rescreening : a South African perspectiveen_US
dc.typePostprint Articleen_US

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