PURPOSE:
to evaluate the Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) programs of maternity units located in the city of João Pessoa, PB, Brazil.
METHODS:
a total of five maternity/hospital institutions participated in this study (one federal, one municipal, two state and one private maternity hospital), which were selected for having a NHS program. The questionnaire "Newborn Hearing Screening Survey" containing 29 questions was applied to five phonoaudiologists and five health managers.
RESULTS:
all maternity units carry out their NHS programs in the rooming, neonatal ICU and intermediate-risk nursery. Hearing screening is routinely requested by the medical staff and authorized in four units. However, in one of the maternity units, hearing screening is not routinely requested. All screenings are performed by the phonoaudiologist. The only method used to screening is Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (EOE). The number of referrals to retests ranged from 4% to 15%. All maternity units provide the results of the hearing screening by means of a written report. The cases that require monitoring or audiologic diagnosis are referred to public and private services. The phonoaudiologist is the professional that ensures and monitors the diagnosis in four of the maternity units surveyed. Only one unit reported that it is an assignment of the social service staff.
CONCLUSION:
the methods used in the NHS program were found to be suitable for newborns with no risk for hearing loss, but not for those at risk. The greatest issue concerning the NHS programs in the city of João Pessoa lies in the stages of data recording and control of referrals. There is no database allowing the control of NHS coverage, retests, referrals and false-positives. There is a dissociation between the different steps of the programs, scarcity of resources and lack of effective participation of managers, even though there is a law making it mandatory to perform EOE in maternity units, which is also advocated by the Ministry of Health.
Hearing Loss; Neonatal Screening; Parenting
