Universal newborn hearing screening program in Saudi Arabia: Current insight

作     者：Noura Alothman Reem Elbeltagy Reem Mulla Noura Alothman;Reem Elbeltagy;Reem Mulla

作者机构：Department of Health Communication SciencesCollege of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesPrincess Nourah bint Abdulrahman UniversityRiyadhSaudi Arabia Audiovestibular MedicineEar-Nose-Throat DepartmentFaculty of MedicineZagazig UniversityZagazigEgypt Department of HearingSpeech and Language SciencesGallaudet UniversityWashingtonDCUSA 

出 版 物：《Journal of Otology》 (中华耳科学杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2024年第19卷第1期

页      面：35-39页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 1010[医学-医学技术（可授医学、理学学位）] 10[医学] 

基　　金：Ministry of Health – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  MOH 

主　　题：Hearing screening Hearing loss Newborn Auditory brainstem response Saudi Arabia 

摘      要：Newborn hearing screening(NHS) programs are essential to identify hearing loss early in life and to improve outcomes in children. In Saudi Arabia, the national NHS program has been operational since 2016;however, few studies have evaluated its status, and none have covered all provinces across the country. This cross-sectional retrospective study provides an overview of the program s status across all provinces, focusing on screening coverage rates, referral/fail rates, and follow-up procedures. In 2021, 199,034 newborns were screened, with a coverage rate of 92.6% and an overall referral/fail rate of 1.87%. These performance measures provide a foundation for future progress and improvements. This study highlights the importance of ongoing efforts to enhance the program s effectiveness and sustainability.