Postponement of the Newborn Hearing Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Parental Experiences and Worries
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Newborn Hearing Screening in the Netherlands
1.2. Parental Experiences, Beliefs, and Worries
1.3. Current Study
- How did parents experience the hearing screening of their newborn during the first COVID-19 lockdown?
- Are there differences in parents’ worries and experiences concerning the hearing screening of their newborn in case of a postponed hearing screening compared to a timely hearing screening during the first COVID-19 lockdown?
- To what extent do child and family characteristics affect parents’ worries and experiences of the hearing screening during the first COVID-19 lockdown?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.3. Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Postponement of Newborn Hearing Screening
3.2. Child and Family Characteristics
4. Discussion
4.1. The Influence of Postponement of Newborn Hearing Screening on Parents’ Experiences
4.2. Parents’ Experiences of the Hearing Screening in Relation to Child Characteristics
4.3. Strengths, Limitations, and Directions for Future Research
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristic | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
n (%) | n (%) | |
Postponed hearing screening | 573 (54.4%) | 480 (45.6%) |
Born premature | 49 (4.7%) | 1004 (95.3%) |
First child | 469 (44.5%) | 584 (55.5%) |
Deaf/hard-of-hearing in the family | 37 (3.5%) | 1016 (96.5%) |
Statement | Mean (SD) | Disagree n (%) | Neutral n (%) | Agree n (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beliefs | |||||
1 | I recommend friends with babies to participate in the hearing screening | 4.52 (0.74) | 16 (1.5%) | 73 (6.9%) | 964 (91.6%) |
2 | The hearing screening unnecessarily worries parents | 1.88 (0.83) | 835 (79.3%) | 184 (17.5%) | 34 (3.2%) |
Experiences | |||||
3 | The screener showed interest in me and my baby | 4.13 (0.91) | 64 (6.1%) | 129 (12.2%) | 860 (81.7%) |
4 | The screener walked us through what he/she was doing during the hearing screening | 4.36 (0.75) | 30 (2.9%) | 53 (5.0%) | 970 (92.1%) |
5 | I felt at ease with the screener | 4.27 (0.83) | 42 (4.0%) | 88 (8.4%) | 923 (87.6%) |
6 | The hearing screening has upset my baby | 1.48 (0.82) | 951 (90.3%) | 58 (5.5%) | 44 (4.2%) |
Information | |||||
7 | I received enough information on the procedures of the hearing screening | 4.10 (0.90) | 78 (7.4%) | 93 (8.8%) | 882 (83.8%) |
8 | I received enough information beforehand to decide whether my baby had to be screened or not | 3.38 (1.21) | 282 (26.8%) | 236 (22.4%) | 535 (50.8%) |
9 | The procedure after the hearing screening has been clearly explained to me | 3.52 (1.13) | 208 (19.8%) | 230 (21.8%) | 615 (58.4%) |
Worries | |||||
10 | I felt relieved after the hearing screening of my baby | 3.75 (0.87) | 67 (6.4%) | 319 (30.3%) | 667 (63.3%) |
11 | Before the hearing screening took place, I was worried about the hearing of my baby | 1.63 (0.87) | 923 (87.7%) | 79 (7.5%) | 51 (4.8%) |
12 | I am currently worried about the hearing of my baby | 1.28 (0.55) | 1032 (98.0%) | 11 (1.0%) | 10 (1.0%) |
Statement | Postponed (n = 573) | Not Postponed (n = 480) | Premature (n = 49) | Not Premature (n = 1004) | First Child (n = 469) | Not First Child (n = 584) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Information | |||||||
7 | I think I received enough information on the procedures of the hearing screening | 4.04 (0.97) | 4.17 (0.80) | 4.12 (0.97) | 4.10 (0.90) | 4.04 (0.95) | 4.15 (0.86) |
8 | I think I received enough information beforehand to decide whether my baby had to be screened or not | 3.32 (1.25) | 3.44 (1.16) | 3.29 (1.26) | 3.38 (1.21) | 3.26 (1.20) | 3.47 (1.20) |
9 | The procedure after the hearing screening has been clearly explained to me | 3.39 (1.21) | 3.69 (1.00) | 3.59 (1.04) | 3.52 (1.13) | 3.38 (1.16) | 3.64 (1.09) |
Worries | |||||||
10 | I felt relieved after the hearing screening of my baby | 3.68 (0.88) | 3.83 (0.85) | 3.69 (1.05) | 3.75 (0.86) | 3.78 (0.88) | 3.72 (0.86) |
11 | Before the hearing screening took place, I was worried about the hearing of my baby | 1.65 (0.88) | 1.61 (0.85) | 1.82 (1.07) | 1.62 (0.85) | 1.69 (0.90) | 1.58 (0.84) |
12 | I am currently worried about the hearing of my baby | 1.24 (0.49) | 1.32 (0.61) | 1.41 (0.73) | 1.27 (0.54) | 1.29 (0.56) | 1.27 (0.54) |
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van der Zee, R.B.; Peet, S.L.; Uilenburg, N.N.; van Bakel, H.J.A.; Dirks, E. Postponement of the Newborn Hearing Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Parental Experiences and Worries. Int. J. Neonatal Screen. 2024, 10, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijns10010026
van der Zee RB, Peet SL, Uilenburg NN, van Bakel HJA, Dirks E. Postponement of the Newborn Hearing Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Parental Experiences and Worries. International Journal of Neonatal Screening. 2024; 10(1):26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijns10010026
Chicago/Turabian Stylevan der Zee, Rosanne B., Sanne L. Peet, Noëlle N. Uilenburg, Hedwig J. A. van Bakel, and Evelien Dirks. 2024. "Postponement of the Newborn Hearing Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Parental Experiences and Worries" International Journal of Neonatal Screening 10, no. 1: 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijns10010026
APA Stylevan der Zee, R. B., Peet, S. L., Uilenburg, N. N., van Bakel, H. J. A., & Dirks, E. (2024). Postponement of the Newborn Hearing Screening during the COVID-19 Pandemic; Parental Experiences and Worries. International Journal of Neonatal Screening, 10(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijns10010026