Holzinger Daniel, Binder Doris, Raus Daniel, Palmisano Georg, Fellinger Johannes
Konventhospital Barmherzige Brüder, Institut für Sinnes-und Sprachneurologie, 4020 Linz, Austria.
Research Institute for Developmental Medicine, Johannes Kepler University Linz, 4040 Linz, Austria.
Children (Basel). 2021 Aug 28;8(9):743. doi: 10.3390/children8090743.
More than one decade after the introduction of newborn hearing screening in Upper Austria, most children were still older than 6 months at enrolment in early intervention. In this study, under the guidance of health authorities, a revised screening and tracking protocol was developed by a network of early intervention providers and representatives of ENT, obstetrics, and pediatrics, including screening professionals and parents of children with hearing loss. Critical process indicators following internationally recommended benchmarks were defined and collected annually by the health authorities. Due to data protection issues, the data collection system was not personalized. Regular network meetings, case-oriented meetings, and screener training sessions were held. As a result, even without additional costs and within the legal constraints related to data protection in Austria, the proportion of children enrolled in early intervention before 6 months of age was significantly increased from 26% to 81% in two representative birth cohorts before and after the introduction of the new protocol, respectively. The coverage for bilateral screening increased from 91.4 to 97.6% of the total number of births.
在上奥地利州引入新生儿听力筛查十多年后，大多数儿童在接受早期干预时的年龄仍超过6个月。在本研究中，在卫生当局的指导下，由早期干预服务提供者网络以及耳鼻喉科、产科和儿科代表（包括筛查专业人员和听力损失儿童的家长）制定了修订后的筛查和跟踪方案。卫生当局按照国际推荐的基准定义并每年收集关键过程指标。由于数据保护问题，数据收集系统没有个性化。定期召开网络会议、案例导向会议和筛查人员培训会议。结果，即使没有额外费用，且在奥地利数据保护相关法律限制范围内，在新方案引入前后的两个代表性出生队列中，6个月龄前接受早期干预儿童的比例分别从26%显著提高到了81%。双侧筛查的覆盖率从出生总数的91.4%提高到了97.6%。
