Neonatal hearing screening model: An Italian regional experience

Objective. To produce a model for routine centralized hearing screening including all aspects of the screening, from diagnosis to psychological counseling and early rehabilitation.Methods. A prospective observational study on a geographically defined pediatric population (Liguria region, northwestern Italy) and data collection in a data bank. The model proposed was created for the audiological screening of all newborns of the Liguria region. The model includes four phases: (1) preliminary identification of contractual, administrative, legal aspects; (2) screening for identification of congenital hearing impairment; (3) therapy and rehabilitation of identified subjects and genetic analysis; (4) epidemiology, data management, and workload management. To test the feasibility of the model proposed and to establish the workload required according to the resources available in the regional health plan, we performed a pilot study on all infants born in four of the 13 regional birth centers of Liguria region from...