Follow-up in newborn hearing screening – a systematic review

Introduction The quality and efficiency of newborn hearing screening programs (NHS) rely heavily on appropriate follow-up. The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing recommends a follow-up rate of more than 95% of infants who fail the initial hearing screening. However, a 70% benchmark is considered to be more feasible. This high loss to follow-up (LTF) rate acts as a threat to the overall success of NHS programs. The objective of the study was to identify and examine the reported rates of LTF, attributed reasons for LTF and strategies undertaken to reduce LTF. Methods Using a systematic search, articles published between 2005 to December 2015 were identified from PubMed/Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), Scopus, Ovid, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library. To be included in the review, the study should be exploring the loss to follow-up or drop-out rate in newborn hearing screening programs and be published in an indexed peer-reviewed journal in the English language. The main outcome measures were overall rate of LTF, factors leading to LTF and measures adopted to overcome LTF. Results 53 articles were short-listed for data extraction. Out of these, 27 were single-centre studies, 19 were multi-centre, 3 compared multiple databases, and 4 used survey-based methods. Overall LTF rates of 20% in single-centre and 21% in multiple-centre studies were observed. Educational disparity and lack of adequate knowledge among parents were associated with LTF. The most commonly used strategy to overcome LTF suggested by studies was the use of an adequate data management system. Conclusion This review is a novel attempt to explore the LTF among NHS studies, reasons for LTF and strategies to reduce LTF. This review can act as a basis for planning and execution of effective NHS programs

A Novel Battery of Graded Word and Non-Word Reading Tests to Identify Sub-Lexical Dyslexia in Kannada

Background: Sub-lexical dyslexia is characterized by difficulty in reading non-words relative to true words. Identification of this impairment requires tests assessing word and non-word reading performances. No such tests are available in Kannada, a South-Indian language. Objectives: a) to develop and validate: Graded word and Graded non-word reading tests in Kannada b) to standardize the tests by administering on 100 children each from Grades III to VII and to establish grade-wise criteria to identify sub-lexical dyslexia. Methods: The Graded Word Reading Test was developed separately for Grades III-VII by compiling 30 words each from Kannada textbook of the specific grade. The Graded Non-word Reading Test was developed by creating 70 randomized non-words. It was then given to 10 Kannada teachers to opine on the pronounceability and suitability of items for target Grades. The test battery was later administered on 25 children with good oral reading skills and subsequently standardized on a cross-section of 500 children from four Kannada-medium schools. This data was used to establish Grade-specific criteria for reading words and non-words in Kannada. Results: The Graded-word and non-word reading test demonstrated good content and face validity. A total of 44 (8.8%) children were identified to have sub-lexical dyslexia across Grades. Conclusion: This novel test battery is first of its kind which also ‘quantifies’ the ‘relative performances’ on word and non-word reading to identify sub-lexical dyslexia in Kannada from Grades III to VII

Analysis of Verbal Fluency Output on Semantic Categories of ‘Food’ and ‘Vehicle’ in Typically Developing Malayalam Speaking Children

In the wake of limited knowledge on verbal fluency performance in typically developing children, the present study aims at investigating the semantic fluency performance of Malayalam speaking children across age, gender and tasks. Using a cross-sectional study design, semantic fluency performance (on food and vehicle fluency tasks) was investigated in 1015 Malayalam speaking typically developing children aged 5 to 15 years. The findings revealed the positive influence of age and task with no substantial difference between gender groups, with good inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. The study outcomes depicted a distinct pattern of continuous and linear developmental trend in organizational strategies, with no specific age band showing any dramatic increase in performance. Semantic fluency as a task has great potential within the developmental context for understanding the highly language, culture, and task based word retrieval mechanism

Traces of Sub-Lexical Dyslexia in a Semisyllabic Orthography

Dyslexia refers to the impairment of reading ability. Different forms of dyslexia have been reported in the literature. A classic type of dyslexia in which children exhibit poor reading of non-words compared to true words is known as phonological dyslexia. From the perspectives of the prevailing models of reading aloud, this deficit is attributed to an impaired ‘sub-lexical’ route. However, phonological dyslexia is presumed to be rare in semisyllabic scripts (e.g., Indian scripts) due to the inherent transparency of the written symbols of this orthography. However, the existence of this type of dyslexia has not been empirically tested in this orthography till date. In this context, we aimed to investigate the existence of the equivalent of phonological dyslexia (i.e., sub-lexical dyslexia) in Kannada language. We administered a battery of word and non-word reading tests in a group of children studying in Kannada medium schools from I to VII Grades. Our results are suggestive of the existence of sub-lexical dyslexia in semisyllabic orthography

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Among Nurses Towards Newborn Hearing Screening in India

Background and objectives: Multidisciplinary team approach can act as the major facilitator for the successful implementation of newborn hearing screening. Nurses can act as a good educator for the parents due to their close association. Therefore, the need was felt to explore the knowledge, attitudes and existing practices towards newborn hearing screening. Method: Cross-sectional study was carried out using the convenient sampling in a tertiary hospital to assess knowledge, attitude and practices. Results: The familiarity about newborn hearing screening was relatively low, also there was lack of surety regarding the ideal time for receiving additional testing for the newborns not passing the screening. More than 90% were positive about screening all newborns for hearing loss at the same time 40% felt that it leads to excessive anxiety and concerns. Conclusion: The role played by nurses include educating parents, explaining parents about impact of hearing loss, follow-up and facilitator for screening process as team member. Nurses showed positive attitude while at the same time emphasized need to have additional information

Assessment tools for autism spectrum disorder developed in India: a scoping review.

Objective: The purpose of the review is to identify and map the literature published on autism assessment tools developed in India and to examine the nature and psychometric properties of these Indian assessment tools. Introduction: Knowledge of indigenous assessment tools is essential for professionals working in the field of ASD in an economically and culturally diverse country like India. Using a valid and culturally adapted assessment tool has indisputable effects in proper identification, diagnosis, and severity grading of the disorder. Reviews published so far are on ASD assessment tools in general, mostly developed outside India, and no systematic reviews on assessment tools indigenously developed and particularly used in India has been done till date. And hence, this review aims to explore and identify Indian ASD assessment tools reported in the literature and analyze their nature and psychometric properties. Inclusion criteria: Literature on ASD assessment tools developed and validated in India will be reviewed. Methods: Search databases used include “MEDLINE (PubMed)”, “Embase”, “CINAHL”, “Scopus”, and “Web of Science”. Search for gray literature or unpublished studies will be done using “Google Scholar”, “ProQuest Dissertations”. The searches will be restricted to studies published after the year 2000 and only articles published in English will be considered. Two reviewers will do study selection independently in two phases, phase 1 – title and abstract screening and, phase 2 – full text screening. Data pertaining to the research questions will be extracted from the selected studies and findings will be described using graphs and tables, wherever required, along with a narrative summary. The proposed scoping review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR)