title: Failure of hearing screening in high-risk neonates does not increase parental anxiety.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether a failure of neonatal hearing screening affected the anxiety level of parents of high-risk infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and eighty-eight parents of infants included in the neonatal hearing screening protocol of our Institution were tested with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and with an open-question questionnaire investigating parents' attitude to hearing problems in their child, done at the time of audiological follow-up. 105 were parents of high-risk infants who had been discharged from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and 183 of low-risk infants discharged from well-baby nursery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No differences in anxiety levels were seen between parents of high-risk infants passing and failing neonatal hearing screening using homogeneous case-control pairs. Additionally, no differences in the level of anxiety were found between parents of high- and low-risk infants failing neonatal auditory screening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Failure of neonatal auditory screening does not affect the anxiety levels of parents of high-risk infants at post discharge from NICU. This finding is a key factor to be considered when evaluating the costs and benefits of tests for universal neonatal hearing screening.
authors: Child Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Paediatric University Hospital, Padua, Italy. suppiej@pediatria.unipd.it
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Suppiej
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Cainelli
authors: M
authors: M
authors: De Benedittis
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Rizzardi
authors: P S
authors: PS
authors: Bisiacchi
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ermani
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Orzan
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Zanardo
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D006320:Hearing Tests / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires