Stories of Origin in the Identification of Hearing Loss among Neonates

Parental reactions to the initial indication of possible hearing loss among newborn infants were gathered through two focus-group interviews. All of the infants had been screened in a state-wide universal hearing screening program. Stories of origin told by parents in which they recounted their initial discovery of a problem were examined qualitatively for thematic content. Analysis of these stories revealed six troublesome features of informing practices surrounding the identification of hearing loss, which we classify as nonhearings, mishearings, misunderstandings, responses to parental questions, inaccurate information, and inadequate explanations. In light of these findings, conduit and constructivist models of communication are considered with respect to their viability for understanding and possibly improving professional practices of informing in this setting.

KEYWORDS

Neonatal hearing screening - family-centered services - qualitative analysis

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