title: Maternal views on infant hearing loss in a developing country.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parental support for infant hearing loss is essential for a successful infant screening programme. However, in developing countries where unfavourable customs and beliefs towards childhood disabilities have been reported, parental support towards infant screening is uncertain and there is presently no published evidence on the subject.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To elicit the views of mothers and would-be mothers in order to ascertain their knowledge on infant hearing loss and their attitudes towards infant hearing screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  A structured questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was administered to 101 mothers (mean age 31.6+/-7.3 years, range: 21-55 years) attending two community hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria. The responses were evaluated by descriptive statistics, factor analysis of the principal components and multiple regression analysis. The reliability of the two main domains (knowledge and attitude) was tested for internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal knowledge was highest for measles (73%; mean score 2.54) and ear discharge (73%; mean score 2.51) but low for birth asphyxia (37%; mean score 1.90), traditional medicine (42%; mean score 2.03) and jaundice (47%; mean score 2.09) as causes of hearing loss. Attitude towards neonatal screening was positive in majority of mothers (92%; mean score 2.84) and there was a high acceptance of hearing aids as an early intervention option (84%; mean score 2.70). Five factors (eigenvalue>1) were extracted after principal component analysis with the attitude variables loading highly and exclusively on one factor. Age was the only demographic variable that was associated with a domain (knowledge) after multiple regression analysis. The component scales for the two domains were highly internally consistent (alpha coefficients of 0.84 and 0.83).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrary to the concerns often expressed about parental support for infant hearing screening programmes in developing countries, this study suggests that current parental knowledge and attitude favour early detection and intervention of childhood hearing impairment.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Audiological Medicine, Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK. boolusanya@aol.com
authors.forename: B O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Olusanya
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Luxon
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wirz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003906:Developing Countries; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008457:Measles / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires