{"title":"Universal newborn hearing screening program in Saudi Arabia: Current insight","authors":"Noura Alothman , Reem Elbeltagy , Reem Mulla","doi":"10.1016/j.joto.2024.01.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs are essential to identify hearing loss early in life and to improve outcomes in children. In Saudi Arabia, the national NHS program has been operational since 2016; however, few studies have evaluated its status, and none have covered all provinces across the country. This cross-sectional retrospective study provides an overview of the program's status across all provinces, focusing on screening coverage rates, referral/fail rates, and follow-up procedures. In 2021, 199,034 newborns were screened, with a coverage rate of 92.6% and an overall referral/fail rate of 1.87%. These performance measures provide a foundation for future progress and improvements. This study highlights the importance of ongoing efforts to enhance the program's effectiveness and sustainability.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37466,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Otology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1672293024000023/pdfft?md5=f39cba2324ac9a27ddbc98a353612eb3&pid=1-s2.0-S1672293024000023-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Otology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1672293024000023","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs are essential to identify hearing loss early in life and to improve outcomes in children. In Saudi Arabia, the national NHS program has been operational since 2016; however, few studies have evaluated its status, and none have covered all provinces across the country. This cross-sectional retrospective study provides an overview of the program's status across all provinces, focusing on screening coverage rates, referral/fail rates, and follow-up procedures. In 2021, 199,034 newborns were screened, with a coverage rate of 92.6% and an overall referral/fail rate of 1.87%. These performance measures provide a foundation for future progress and improvements. This study highlights the importance of ongoing efforts to enhance the program's effectiveness and sustainability.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Otology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research findings from disciplines related to both clinical and basic science aspects of auditory and vestibular system and diseases of the ear. This journal welcomes submissions describing original experimental research that may improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying problems of basic or clinical significance and treatment of patients with disorders of the auditory and vestibular systems. In addition to original papers the journal also offers invited review articles on current topics written by leading experts in the field. The journal is of primary importance for all scientists and practitioners interested in audiology, otology and neurotology, auditory neurosciences and related disciplines. Journal of Otology welcomes contributions from scholars in all countries and regions across the world.