Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2024 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Scientific Oral Presentations

Care Equity, Quality, and Safety

Session: Scientific Oral Presentations 1 - Care Equity, Quality, and Safety

Exploring the Feasibility of Tele-Audiology in Rural Communities to Reduce Care Inequities for At-Risk Newborns

Sunday, September 29, 2024
1:06 PM – 1:12 PM EDT
Location: MBCC, 224
Disclosure(s):
Maeher R. Grewal, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Shi Liang, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Shannon Wnek, AuD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Stephanie B. McVicar, AuD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Marissa L. Diener, PhD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Albert H. Park, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Expeditious evaluation of infants who fail the newborn hearing screen (NBHS) for hearing loss (HL) via diagnostic auditory brainstem response (ABR) study is crucial for timely intervention. Rural patients face a care inequity compared to those in larger metropolitan centers due to lack of pediatric providers. To reduce disparities in HL detection for statewide rural communities, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) implemented a tele-ABR program: ABR study was performed at a local hospital under the guidance of a remote audiologist. Our study evaluated the outcomes & feasibility of this program.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of infants born at Uintah Basin Medical Center from 2006-2021 who failed the NBHS and underwent subsequent ABR. Patients were categorized by in-person or tele-ABR; statistical analysis assessed for differences in demographics, mean age at testing, and distance travelled. The accuracy of tele-ABR was verified when possible by comparison to subsequent in-person ABR.

Results: Of 135 infants who failed the NBHS, 66 (48.9%) underwent tele-ABR. Participants of the tele-ABR group were more likely to be non-White; specifically, American Indians comprised 21.9% of the tele-ABR group vs only 11.8% of the in-person group (P < 0.05). Distance travelled was significantly lower for the tele-ABR group: 13.1 miles vs. 104.9 miles (P < 0.001). Age at testing did not differ: 50.3 days vs 49.2 days (P = 0.92). Finally, 2 of the 6 infants who underwent tele-ABR and were found to have HL received additional in-person ABR which confirmed tele-ABR diagnostic thresholds.

Conclusions: Participants of the tele-ABR program benefitted from shorter distance travelled without suffering from a delay or any apparent inaccuracy of HL diagnosis compared to in-person participants. Given that tele-ABR participants included significantly more American Indians, this approach may enable evaluation of an underserved population who will often not pursue additional testing if not regionally available. Tele-ABR is thus a feasible and potentially viable diagnostic tool to help reduce barriers to timely testing.

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Maeher R. Grewal, MD

    Resident Physician
    University of Utah Health
    Salt Lake City, UT, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • EB

    Eliza Broadbent, MPH

    University of Utah School of Medicine, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • Shi Liang, BS

    Medical Student
    University of Utah
    Salt Lake City, UT, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • Shannon Wnek, AuD

    Pediatric Audiologist
    Utah Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • Stephanie B. McVicar, AuD

    Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Programs Manager
    Utah Department of Health and Human Services
    Salt Lake City, Virgin Islands, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • MS

    Max Sidesinger, MPH

    EHDI Epidemiologist/CMV Data Coordinator
    state of Utah
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • Marissa L. Diener, PhD

    Professor
    University of Utah
    Salt Lake City, UT, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Albert H. Park, MD

    Chief Pediatric Otolaryngology
    University of Utah, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
    Salt Lake City, UT, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.