Relation of Public Health Staffing To Follow-up After Newborn Hearing Screening IN THREE HEALTH DISTRICTS IN GEORGIA, 2009-2015

Abstract Objective To describe the association, or non-association, of public health district staffing (specifically, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention [EHDI] coordinator/navigator) and loss to follow-up in newborns who did not pass hearing screening in selected public health districts in Georgia, USA. Methods By Freedom of Information request, data regarding newborn hearing screening and loss to follow-up for diagnostic testing and staffing were acquired for three districts in Georgia for six years. The districts were chosen because their coordinator/navigator positions were unfilled at times. Results Lapses in staffing of the district EHDI coordinator/navigator position aligned temporally with decreased follow-up. Aggregate three district data showed that follow-up rates in quarter-years with a fulltime navigator were higher than quarter-years without a full-time navigator (p  Conclusion Lapses in staffing dedicated to EHDI navigation-coordination correlated with poorer follow-up after not passing newborn hearing screening.