PURPOSE: to describe the socio-economic and demographic aspects of mothers related to a newborn hearing screening program in Recife. METHODS: this study was developed in public hospitals in Recife, through interviews carried out with the mothers. After each interview, the mothers were invited to carry out hearing screening in their babies in audiological clinics at the Universities, with no any burden. RESULTS: 1,021 mothers took part in this study, with the following features: age varying from 13 to 50 years, with the majority (69.5%) between 20 and 35 years-old, 59.4% were married or had formal consented union, 39.1% were single, and the majority of mothers (34.1%) did not finished high school, 3.4% completed university graduation, the majority of the mothers (72.8%) earned less than one minimal wage per month, 90.3% had goods such as TV (83.6%), their self-owned house (56.7%), and telephone (40.7%). CONCLUSION: the results showed the socio-economic and demographic aspects of the mother involved in the newborn hearing screening program were married young adults, with low educational level and low income. They mostly had no outside job and owned a TV set. Therefore, from de findings we can better substantiate programs direct towards mothers with the indicated socioeconomic features. However, for reaching all mothers, the study also provided indications of minority groups that deserve, certainly, new sequential studies.
Socioeconomic Factors; Hearing; Infant, Newborn
