Dr Jane Fitzgibbons1, Ms Lia Traves1, Associate Professor Carlie Driscoll2, Dr Rachael Beswick1
1Children’s Health Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 2University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
This presentation will summarise the outcomes of an analysis of 10 years-worth of data from Queensland’s targeted surveillance program to determine (a) which risk factors were associated with a postnatal hearing loss diagnosis and (b) at what age the hearing losses were detected through the surveillance program.
This analysis has been conducted as part of a larger state-wide service redesign project intended to promote high value healthcare and geographical service equity. Specifically, these analyses will inform a risk-registry revision and the optimal age at which to screen if transitioning from a serial monitoring protocol to a single early childhood screen.
Early analysis indicates that two of the risk factors used did not result in any postnatal hearing loss diagnoses and therefore potentially do not warrant referral for hearing surveillance. The results of logistic regression analysis for all risk factors and demographic variables will presented.
Biography:
Dr Rachael Beswick, PhD, MBA has been the Director of Queensland’s newborn hearing screening program since 2012, is co-chair, Queensland Child and Youth Clinical Network and recently Director, Queensland Health Reform team. She has led several large-scale population-based research programs including >25 publications on service model evaluation, cost-effectiveness of service delivery, patient outcomes, and family-centered care, has obtained $1.5 million in grant funding, and presented at both national and international conferences. Dr Beswick is also currently leading the Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening sub-committee which is developing a national consensus statement for detection of hearing loss beyond the newborn period.
Jane Fitzgibbons is a senior audiologist at Queensland’s Healthy Hearing Program. She holds a Master of Audiology qualification from the University of Auckland and a Doctorate in Audiology from A.T. Still University in Arizona. Jane is currently managing a project which is redesigning Queensland’s hearing surveillance program for children with risk factors, with the goal of providing higher value health care and more geographically equitable services for children and families across the state.
jane.fitzgibbons@health.qld.gov.au