A cross-sectional study to measure parent’s satisfaction with neonatal hearing screening program in Alexandria governorate

Abstract

Abstract Background Newborn hearing screening has been implemented throughout the world to early identify and manage congenital hearing loss. Studies show that children whose hearing loss was identified early and had early interventions (within the first year of life) had significantly better outcomes regarding speech, language, and social communication. The success of the newborn hearing screening program is closely related to parents’ attitude and satisfaction with the process, and that is why the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing stated the value of evaluating their satisfaction when assessing the success of the screening programs. Measuring parents’ satisfaction with the program helps in identifying its insufficiencies and, therefore, improving the current programs. The success of different intervention plans also depends on parents’ comfort; satisfied parents will be more cooperative and more compliant with treatment. Aim To measure the parents’ satisfaction with the neonatal hearing screening program in Alexandria governorate, Egypt. Methods An Arabic version of the Parent Satisfaction Questionnaire with Neonatal Hearing Screening Program was given to 500 parents whose infants had their hearing screened in the healthcare units in Alexandria governorate. Parents were divided into two groups: Group 1 consisted of 400 parents from the primary healthcare units whose infants passed the screening and Group 2 consisted of 100 parents from the secondary healthcare centers whose infants failed the screening and were referred for further investigation. Results and conclusion Most parents (> 79%) from both studied groups were generally satisfied with the program. Parents showed less satisfaction with specific items than others. These items include the information they received about the follow-up sessions and the information they received before the test about the process. Parents were more satisfied with the presence of the initiative, the caring staff, and the test being free. Parents whose infants failed the screening showed significantly lower degrees of general satisfaction than parents whose infants passed the screening ( p < 0.001).