The Challenge for Research into Outcomes for Deaf Children

Address correspondence to: Adrian Davis, Ph.D., Professor, FFPH FSS FRSA, MRC Hearing and Communication Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK, [email protected] Brilliant technology with poor service implementation will not deliver good outcomes, so the task of developing good services to match the new technology needs equal time, skill and commitment. A multicenter trial using newborn screening technology began in 1988 in eight UK hospitals, with the results published in 1997 (Lutman, Davis, Fortnum and Wood 1997). This trial was targeted at newborn babies who were at risk from hearing impairment – a total of 7,500 babies had been tested by the end of 1995. The research concluded that targeted newborn hearing screening programmes can identify hearing impairment in a significant percentage of babies screened. The Wessex Hearing Assessment Project then tested all newborn babies, as opposed to a few targeted ones. The results of this indicated that more cases of significant hearing impairment could be identified and treated early, compared with when the test was not used (Wessex Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Trial Group 1998). A further review of newborn screening, taking into account the results of all the UK and US studies, concluded that, as well as being a specific and sensitive test, it was cost-effective. (Davis et al. 1997)