(PP1108) Essential Early Hearing Detection and Intervention: Critical Collaborations During Crisis

Lead Presenter(s)

Ursula M. Findlen, PhD

Director of Audiology Research
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Presenter(s)

Gina M. Hounam, PhD

Audiology Program Manager
Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH)
Powell, Ohio, United States

Contributor(s)

Reena Kothari, Reena Kothari, Au.D.

Infant Hearing Program Audiology Consultant
The Ohio Department of Health
Hilliard, Ohio, United States
MM

Mallory Minter-Mohr, PhD

Researcher
Ohio Department of Health, Ohio, United States
LH

Lisa L. Hunter, PhD

Professor
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Abstract: Healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly disrupted prompting health care providers to determine which services were “essential.” This poster will review the efforts of a community collaborative to facilitate the essential service of infant diagnostics during 2020 and beyond by providing evidence-based resources and guidance. Data monitoring of infants who referred the newborn hearing screening indicated a brief period of delayed services with rapid recovery to baseline levels after May 2020. Guidelines provided a framework for successful congenital hearing loss identification during the pandemic and have been highlighted as an American Academy of Pediatrics EHDI Promising Practice.

Summary: The provision of both routine and acute healthcare services was disrupted in March 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic led to emergency orders precluding outpatient appointments. Early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) was impacted in multiple ways across screening, diagnostics, and early intervention services due to reduced service provision, family reticence, and an overall lack of access to services. This presentation offers the experience of a community collaborative of diagnostic audiologists partnering with their state EHDI staff to evaluate the impact COVID-19 had on diagnostic follow-up for newborn hearing screening referrals. Three action steps taken by this community collaborative include: 1) Surveying providers in May 2020 to establish the state of diagnostic services; 2) Formulating urgent guidelines to triage infants based on key factors to ensure timely diagnosis; and 3) Monitoring data to evaluate initial and recovery phase impacts on diagnostic completion. Results demonstrated that infants born January-April 2020 were diagnosed at an older age, but mean age at diagnosis quickly recovered to baseline by May 2020. Additionally, loss-to-follow-up for diagnostic testing also recovered during the later months of 2020. Survey results suggest that quick recovery was related to diagnostic centers deeming diagnostics “essential” and prioritizing them over other services increasing access at a critical stage. Infant diagnostics were also prioritized according to triaging schemes which have been subsequently highlighted as an American Academy of Pediatrics EHDI Promising Practice. To assist audiologists providing diagnostic testing for follow up of infants beyond 6 months of age, this group adapted the American Academy of Audiology’s (AAA) 2020 Pediatric Behavioral Guidelines to standardize care. This group’s efforts demonstrate that partnership between audiologists and their state EHDI program can maintain outcomes during periods of crisis through collective clinical support and data tracking. Ongoing monitoring and collaboration are necessary to ensure future timely access to essential care during healthcare or staffing crises.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on infant diagnostic testing after referral on newborn hearing screening and describe community collaboration to facilitate EHDI through evidence-based practice.