Parental/Caregiver Satisfaction and Anxiety with Newborn Hearing Screening Program in Dakshina Karnataka, India - A Questionnaire Based Study.

Aims: The present study aimed to assess parental/caregiver satisfaction with a Neonatal Hearing screening program and determine the levels of parental/caregiver stress and anxiety at the time of hearing screening/ rescreening.

Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adapted to collect data for the current study. The study was conducted in two phases, where phase one included the development of the questionnaire and its validation, and phase two included data collection and statistical analysis.

Results: The questionnaires on parental anxiety and satisfaction with the NHS were administered to 119 participants. These included 65 parents (53.8% mothers and 0.8% fathers) and 54 caregivers (45.3%). 85% of the participants were satisfied by the overall NHS program. More than 80% of participants were satisfied with the information and instructions provided and found it adequate and clear. 60% of participants disagreed that they were tensed. Participants expressed that they would have wanted a chance to ask for more details about the test procedures (85.7%) and results (81.5%).

Conclusion: The present study provides valuable information related to maternal/caregiver anxiety and satisfaction related to NHS. There is a need for developing better evidence-based materials and training resources in multiple languages for better dissemination of information and enable timely follow-up.