title: Early Hearing Detection and Intervention-Pediatric Audiology Links to Services EHDI-PALS: Building a National Facility Database.
abstract: To create a searchable web-based national audiology facility directory using a standardized survey, so parents and providers could identify which facilities had capacity to provide appropriate services based on child's age.
  
  
  
  An Early Hearing Detection and Intervention-Pediatric Audiology Links to Services expert panel was convened to create a survey to collect audiology facility information. Professional practice documents were reviewed, a survey was designed to collect pertinent test protocols of each audiology facility, and a standard of care template was created to cross-check survey answers. Audiology facility information across the United States was collected and compiled into a directory structured and displayed in an interactive website, ehdipals.org.
  
  
  
  Since November 7, 2012, to May 21, 2016, over 1000 facilities have completed the survey and become listed in the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention-Pediatric Audiology Links to Services directory. The site has registered 10,759 unique visitors, 151,981 page views, and 9134 unique searches from consumers. User feedback has been positive overall.
  
  
  
  A searchable, web-based facility directory has proven useful to consumers as a tool to help them differentiate whether a facility was set up to test newborns versus young children. Use of a preprogrammed standard of practice template to cross-check survey answers was also shown to be a practical aid.
authors.affiliation: 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defect and Developmental Disability, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska, USA; 3National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, Omaha, Nebraska, USA; 4Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; 5American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Rockville, Maryland, USA; and 6 University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA.
authors.forename: Winnie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Beauchaine
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Kirsten R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Coverstone
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oyler
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mason
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D001298:Audiology; D002648:Child; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D061345:Early Medical Intervention; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires