2014, Number 3
Latin American Consensus on Neonatal Hearing Screening
Berruecos VP, Rosete M
Full text
Language: Spanish
References: 11
Page: 105-110
PDF size: 118.66 Kb.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. In the 2007-2009 periods the Mexican and the Latin American Consensus on NHS were established with the participation of specialists from several Mexican institutions and of well-known audiologists from México, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Panamá, Argentina, Colombia and Brasil. The regional consensus incorporated all the statements of the Mexican one, but has in addition; other important aspects that take into account the needs and particularities of other countries of the area. Material and methods. After an accurate analysis of the predominant ideas around the NHS, particularly in the USA and some European countries, we made some adaptations in order to allow its applicability and we also add necessary points to facilitate the regional consensus. The preliminary document included 50 statements that were organized as follows: 1) basic principles; 2) NHS rationale; 3) objectives and aims; 4) methodology and assessment; 5) follow-up; and 6) professional, ethical and institutional commitments. The basic document was sent to the seven participants. Based on the Likert scale, they evaluated each statement in a 0-10 scale in which 0 indicated “total disagreement” and 10, a “total agreement”. In this way the statements with 70 points (100%) and also with 63-69 (90-99%) were included as a “total consensus”. Responses with 53-62 points (75-89%) were considered as a “tacit agreement” and the ones below 52 points were considered as “disagreement”. Results. In the first stage, 17 of the 50 statements had 70 points (100% of agreement) and 7 had between 63-69 (90-99%); so, 24 were considered as total agreement. 17 had 53-62 points (75-89%) in the “tacit agreement” group and in 9 it was disagreement. In the second stage, after the necessary modifications, the statements classified with 90-100% were 31 and in the other two groups the number decreased to 14 and 5 statements. Finally, in the third stage, 38 statements were included in the “total consensus” group, 12 in the “tacit consensus” and no one in the disagreement group. Conclusions. The final document of 50 statements, allow its applicability in Latin-American countries and it is considered useful for the development of NHS programs in all the countries of the region. Eventual professional economical or institutional peculiarities can be easily solved if this document is considered as the base for it. It can be also take as a support for the proposals of professionals or groups to disseminate the importance of hearing, the impact of deafness and the NHS benefits. On the other hand, it can favor the information exchange to improve NHS programs, analyzing its evolution, correcting the deviations and better controlling its efficiency and efficacy and making adjustments in the medical schools programs for the establishment of better prevention actions in this field. Finally, it must be take into account that many of the fundamentals of the NHS program of the ministry of health are originated in this consensus ad that the evolution and evaluation of that program must be made in the light of the consensus statements and of the aims of the program itself. We hope that this consensus will be useful for all the mentioned purposes.REFERENCES