Social Work Commons^™

Factors Related To Not Following Up: With Recommended Testing In The Diagnosis Of Newborn Hearing Loss, Wendy Zeitlin, Charles Auerbach, Susan E. Mason, Lynn G. Spivak, Bena Reiter

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Children's hearing is a public health concern, and universal newborn hearing screenings are the first step in detecting and treating congenital hearing loss. Despite the high rate of participation in such programs, loss to follow-up (LTF) with additional recommended diagnosis and treatment has been a persistent problem. The current research seeks to expand the knowledge base at the point of diagnosis, where there is a large drop-off in parents following through with recommended care. This research was organized around the following question: What biopsychosocial factors are associated with LTF between screenings and diagnostic evaluations? A prospective quantitative longitudinal study tracked …