Newborn Hearing Screening: association between coverage, and the availability of speech therapists and equipment in Brazil

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To determine the coverage of newborn hearing screening (NHS) and its association with the availability of speech therapists in the National Health System (SUS) and equipment in the states of Brazil in 2012 and 2018.

Methods

This is a descriptive ecological time series study with the Brazilian states and live births as units of analysis. An exploratory analysis of newborn hearing screening coverage and descriptive data analysis were performed. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength and direction of the association between two ranked variables.

Results

Coverage in Brazil increased from 24.1% to 67.6%. Better coverage was observed in the South and Southeast regions in 2012, and in the former and Mato Grosso state (MS) in 2018. The average number of speech therapists was 4.79 and 8.9 / 100,000 inhabitants in 2012 and 2018, respectively. The index of “transient evoked otoacoustic emission” equipment was below 1 / 100,000 inhabitants in the two years in all the states of the country.

Conclusion

Screening coverage increased in Brazil, albeit below the recommended level, and is related to rising number of speech therapists in the SUS. Spatial distribution is heterogeneous throughout the country.

Keywords
Hearing; Newborn Screening; Audiologist; Equipment and Supplies; National Health System; Health Information Systems