Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2025 Jun 21;195:112446. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2025.112446. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Congenital hearing loss (HL) is identified later than the recommended guidelines in South Africa (SA) due to inadequate access to infant and newborn hearing screening (INHS) within numerous state facilities. Thus, there is a need to develop evidence-based preventative programmes for HL.
METHODS: Thus, this hybrid type 2 trial evaluated the feasibility of integrating nurse-administered INHS into an existing immunisation programme at a primary healthcare (PHC) clinic in SA. The PHC clinic received screening equipment and training to provide INHS to infants receiving scheduled Sixth, Tenth and Fourteenth-week immunisations. Data collection methods included a review of routine clinical records, structured observations, and quantitative surveys.
RESULTS: During the study period, 95.2 % of infants (mean age: 6.5 weeks) scheduled for immunisation received nurse-administered INHS, achieving a high coverage rate. Four infants (mean age: 6.8 weeks) obtained refer screening results and were referred to the local hospital for further evaluation. The implementation was characterised by high acceptability, practicality, fidelity, and successful integration into the immunisation programme. Moreover, nurses disclosed a strong intention to continue offering INHS even after this study is concluded, subject to continued access to the screening equipment and training.
CONCLUSION: Integrating nurse-administered INHS into an immunisation programme is both feasible and adoptable, contingent on resource allocation and personnel training. The INHS programme also showed effectiveness in expanding access to INHS and reducing the HL identification age to acceptable standards. Further large-scale trials are recommended to evaluate the programme’s applicability in other contexts and its long-term sustainability.
PMID:40578245 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijporl.2025.112446
