Failure of hearing screening in high-risk neonates does not increase parental anxiety

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether a failure of neonatal hearing screening affected the anxiety level of parents of high-risk infants. Methods: Two hundred and eighty-eight parents of infants included in the neonatal hearing screening protocol of our Institution were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine 2013-06, Vol.26 (9), p.932-935
Main Authors: Suppiej, A., Cainelli, E., De Benedittis, M., Rizzardi, E., Bisiacchi, P. S., Ermani, M., Orzan, E., Zanardo, V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety - epidemiology
Anxiety - etiology
Auditory screening
Case-Control Studies
emotional state
Female
Hearing Disorders - congenital
Hearing Disorders - diagnosis
Hearing Disorders - psychology
Hearing Tests - psychology
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Newborn, Diseases - diagnosis
Infant, Newborn, Diseases - psychology
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Male
Neonatal Screening - psychology
newborn
NICU
Parents - psychology
Risk Factors
Severity of Illness Index
STAI
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether a failure of neonatal hearing screening affected the anxiety level of parents of high-risk infants. Methods: Two hundred and eighty-eight parents of infants included in the neonatal hearing screening protocol of our Institution were tested with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and with an open-question questionnaire investigating parents' attitude to hearing problems in their child, done at the time of audiological follow-up. 105 were parents of high-risk infants who had been discharged from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and 183 of low-risk infants discharged from well-baby nursery. Results: No differences in anxiety levels were seen between parents of high-risk infants passing and failing neonatal hearing screening using homogeneous case-control pairs. Additionally, no differences in the level of anxiety were found between parents of high- and low-risk infants failing neonatal auditory screening. Conclusions: Failure of neonatal auditory screening does not affect the anxiety levels of parents of high-risk infants at post discharge from NICU. This finding is a key factor to be considered when evaluating the costs and benefits of tests for universal neonatal hearing screening.
ISSN:1476-7058
1476-4954
DOI:10.3109/14767058.2013.766687