Alison Jagger1,2,3, Dr Jane Sheehan1,2,3, Mrs Melinda Barker1,2,3,4, Felicity Hood1,2,3, Kate Francis4,5, Associate Professor Valerie Sung2,3,4, Dr Zeffie Poulakis3,4,6
1Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program, Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 2Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 3Prevention Innovation, Population Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, Australia, 4Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia, 5Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, Australia, 6Psychology Department, The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Biography:
Alison Jagger is an Audiologist and Senior Project Officer with the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP) at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH). Her role includes protocol development, stakeholder liaison and quality assurance. Alison has a background in both Speech Pathology and Audiology and has previously worked along all aspects of the hearing pathway including diagnostics, rehabilitation, and early intervention. She has been with the VIHSP team for 10 years and is also part of the Hearing Research Team at RCH.
Abstract
A ‘refer’ (positive) result on a newborn hearing screen and the diagnostic audiology process that follows can increase anxiety and distress in parents and caregivers. Improved parent/caregiver preparedness and knowledge prior to the diagnostic audiology appointment could help mitigate these increases, however the ideal medium for the provision of information is unclear and likely to be affected by generational preferences.
The Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP) already has written and verbal information that is provided to parents as part of usual care. Recognising that digital information sources may be preferred, VIHSP has produced a six-minute information video for parents/caregivers to view after a positive screen result, and prior to their infant’s diagnostic audiology appointment. This video is intended as a supplement to written and verbal information provided as usual care, and outlines how to prepare for, and what to expect at, diagnostic audiology appointments.
A randomised controlled trial is currently underway to examine if, in addition to usual care, providing information via a pre-appointment video impacts (i) parent/caregiver anxiety, (ii) knowledge and understanding about the diagnostic process, (iii) the number of newborn diagnostic audiology appointments required to reach a complete diagnosis, and (iv) audiologist ratings of parent readiness for the diagnostic process.
As of September 2024, 105 parent/caregiver participants have been recruited into the study, with recruitment ongoing. As part of this presentation we will demonstrate the rationale for this resource, present a section of the video, and include preliminary results in response to the study aims.