Follow-up on the diagnostic level of children covered by the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program in Poland, divided into voivodships

Abstract

Introduction: Thanks to the Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program (PUNHSP), All newborns in Poland undergo a free, screening hearing examination. Between 2006 and 2015, the average number of tested children per year was 373,477. According to the analysis of The Central Database(CDB), only 55.8% of the children attended the detailed hearing examinations at the second level of the Program. Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the dates concerning the attendance of the children at the diagnostic level of PUNHSP in different regions of Poland. Materials and methods: To conduct an analysis of this fact and find out the reasons for the low attendance at the second level in 2015, a telephone survey questionnaire was developed for parents whose children had not registered for further consultation - 3,239 randomly selected parents. Results: The analysis revealed that the number of children examined at the second diagnostic level of the program is in fact much higher than the results of The Central Database show. The actual number is 83.6% as opposed to 55,8%. As a result of the telephone questionnaire, some inaccuracies in the input data to the CDB were detected. The main errors involved in the gathering of information for the CDB was the incorrect OAE test result and the lack of performed examination. Conclusion: In Poland, the worst results for the attendance to the diagnostic level (the results were a comparison of the questionnaire results compared to the CDB) was shown in Pomorskie, Lubelskie, Mazowieckie, and Podlaskie regions. In many cases, there was a large difference in reality to what the information in the CDB claimed. The improvement of clarity concerning the CDB application is important in order to minimize the possibility of malformation in the CDB.