Non-compliance With Neonatal Hearing Screening Follow-up in Rural Western India

Objective: The reasons of failure to follow-up for the Universal Neonatal HearingScreening (UNHS) program were delineated. Methods: Review of case records for datarelated to follow-up of neonates who underwent the UNHS between February 2012 -January 2015. Results: 2534 neonates underwent primary screening with DistortionProduct Oto-acoustic Emission (DPOAE). 14 (26.9%) were lost to follow-up between thefirst and second DPOAE screenings. 275 neonates (including high-risk cases) were toundergo confirmatory Brain Evoked Response Audiometry testing out of which 201 (73.4%)came for follow-up. Out of 74 who failed to follow-up (including those lost between first andsecond DOPAE screenings), unwillingness and non-compliance was the commonestreason. Conclusion: Increasing awareness and counseling of the caretaker are importantinterventions for ensuring good follow-up in hearing screening programs.