TY  - JOUR
T1  - Evaluating the Impact of Newborn Hearing Screening Programs and the Global Variability in Access
A1  - Emily N. Hughes
A1  - Carlos M. Alvarez
A1  - Omar A. Youssef
JF  - Bulletin of Pioneering Researches of Medical and Clinical Science
JO  - Bull Pioneer Res Med Clin Sci
SN  - 3006-2659
Y1  - 2025
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
DO  - 10.51847/xo0QZP5n8q
SP  - 172
EP  - 181
N2  - Extensive research demonstrates that newborn hearing screening (NHS) can substantially lessen the developmental and functional consequences of permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL), provided it is carried out within systems designed to reach virtually all infants at birth—commonly referred to as Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS). In two separate resolutions, the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to establish such nationwide screening frameworks and to generate reliable, large-scale monitoring data. To understand how these recommendations are being implemented globally, we distributed a survey to professionals involved or likely to be involved in newborn and infant hearing screening (NIHS) across 196 countries and territories (all subsequently referred to as countries). We received responses from 158 of them. The collected data revealed that 38% of infants worldwide are born in countries where hearing screening is absent or only minimally available, while 33% are born in settings where at least 85% of newborns are screened—which aligns with the operational definition of UNHS. Marked differences were observed across countries with respect to program quality, data infrastructure, and the availability of diagnostic and intervention services for children identified with PCHL.

This article presents a synthesis of the survey results and situates them within the context of recent WHO publications, including the World Report on Hearing, which highlights the scale-up of NHS systems in Member States as one of three core indicators of global advancement in ear and hearing care (EHC).
UR  - https://bprmcs.com/article/evaluating-the-impact-of-newborn-hearing-screening-programs-and-the-global-variability-in-access-ojwvyarqojgmbmn
ER  -