Maternal Factors Predicting Loss to Follow-Up from Newborn Hearing Screenings in New Jersey

Abstract

Because hearing loss in children can result in developmental deficits, early detection and intervention are critical. This article identifies a constellation of maternal factors that predict loss to follow-up (LTF) at the point of rescreening—the first follow-up for babies who did not pass the hearing screening performed at birth—through New Jersey’s early hearing detection and intervention program. Maternal factors are critical to consider, as mothers are often the primary decision makers around children’s health care. All data were obtained from the state’s department of health and included babies born between June 2015 and June 2017. Logistic regression was used to predict LTF. Findings indicate that non-Hispanic Black mothers, younger mothers, mothers with previous live births, and mothers with obesity were more likely to be LTF. Hispanic mothers and those enrolled in the state’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program were less likely to be LTF. Mothers most at risk for LTF should be targeted for intervention to help children with hearing loss achieve the benefits from early intervention. Being a WIC recipient is a protective factor for LTF; therefore, elements of WIC could be used to reduce the state’s LTF rate.

Sociodemographic Factors Affecting Loss to Follow‐Up After Newborn Hearing Screening: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis

“…Title and abstract screening excluded 1023 articles. Full‐text review of the remaining articles excluded 145 articles, leaving 19 remaining articles for inclusion in the final data extraction and analysis 21‐27,29‐33,39‐45 . A diagram outlining the complete search process is included in Figure 1.…”

“…Fulltext review of the remaining articles excluded 145 articles, leaving 19 remaining articles for inclusion in the final data extraction and analysis. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][29][30][31][32][33][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] A diagram outlining the complete search process is included in Figure 1. A critical assessment of the included studies (Figure 2) indicated an acceptable level of risk of bias for most of the included studies.…”

“…Of all the sociodemographic factors analyzed here, race was the factor reported by the highest number of included studies (14/19). Nine studies reported maternal race, 22,23,30,32,33,39,40,44,45 3 reported infant race, 27,31,41 and 2 did not specify if the reported race belonged to the infant or mother. 21,26 Racial and ethnic categories varied between studies, but most frequently were categorized as white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and other.…”

Maternal and child predictors associated with loss to follow-up in the newborn hearing screening program: a cohort study in maternity hospitals in northeastern Brazil

“…NHSPs in Brazil follow the recommendations, guidelines and updates proposed by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) ( 4 - 6 ) , with adaptations according to their social sanitary situation. The main recommendations that guide NHSPs are from the Multiprofessional Committee on Auditory Health (COMUSA) ( 2 ) , which discusses and endorses actions aimed at the hearing health of newborns, infants, preschoolers, schoolchildren, adolescents, adults and older adults ( 7 ) , in addition to the national guidelines proposed by the Ministry of Health ( 1 ) .…”

“…The JCIH proposes different quality indicators for these programs over time, one of which is related to the rate of adherence and losses of families at any stage of the program (4,6) . COMUSA always endorses and recommends quality indicators for the implementation and evaluation of comprehensive care actions for hearing health in childhood (4,7) . Although existing programs seek to comply with these, research has shown that they face significant difficulties due to the high dropout rates of families in the different phases of the NHSP (9)(10)(11)(12)(13) .…”