Loss to Follow-up in Newborn Hearing Screening Programs: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Mullen, R., Frymark, T., et al. (2008).

Rockville (MD): National Center for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1-15.

This systematic review investigates individual factors associated with loss to follow-up after initial identification of newborn hearing loss and the effect of loss to follow-up initiatives in newborn hearing screening programs.

Centers for Disease Control

1990 to January 2008

Published, peer-reviewed, original research studies (not further specified)

14

"The small number, poor quality and inconsistent findings within the available evidence do not provide meaningful direction for clinicians or policymakers in identifying patients/families at the highest risk of loss to follow-up, nor how to decrease that risk. More high quality epidemiologic studies with precise definitions of terminology and incorporation of multivariate statistical analyses are needed, as are high quality experimental or quasi-experimental studies of well-defined interventions targeted at increasing follow-up" (p. 12).