title: Follow-up of permanent hearing impairment in childhood.
abstract: Programmes for early childhood childhood hearing impairment identification allows to quickly start the appropriate hearing aid fitting and rehabilitation process; nevertheless, a large number of patients do not join the treatment program. The goal of this article is to present the results of a strategic review of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats connected with the audiologic/prosthetic/language follow-up process of children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment. Involving small children, the follow-up includes the involvement of specialised professionals of a multidisciplinary team and a complex and prolonged multi-faced management. Within the framework of the Italian Ministry of Health project CCM 2013 "Preventing Communication Disorders: a Regional Program for Early Identification, Intervention and Care of Hearing Impaired Children", the purpose of this analysis was to propose recommendations that can harmonise criteria for outcome evaluation and provide guidance on the most appropriate assessment methods to be used in the follow-up course of children with permanent hearing impairment.
authors.affiliation: Otology and Cochlear Implant Unit, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Della Volpe
authors.affiliation: Otology and Cochlear Implant Unit, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Lucia
authors.affiliation: Otology and Cochlear Implant Unit, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy;
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pastore
authors.affiliation: Otology and Cochlear Implant Unit, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy;
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bracci Laudiero
authors.affiliation: Otology and Cochlear Implant Unit, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy;
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Buonissimo
authors.affiliation: Otorhinolaryngology Clinic, University of Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ricci
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006310:Hearing Aids; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development
keywords: Childhood hearing loss; Follow-up; Lost to follow-up; Outcome evaluation protocols; SWOT analysis