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12th Annual Coalition for Global Hearing Health
January 20-22, 2022 • Fully Virtual
Coalition for Global Hearing Health 2022. Virtual Global Conference. 20 - 22 January 2022. 14h00 - 17h30 (CET)

Abstract Details

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10/25/2016  |   11:15 AM - 12:15 PM   |  BGPOP Building 4A/B/C

Building Successful Island Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs Using Quality Improvement Methodology

The U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau provides support for an Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program in all states and in each of the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States. For almost ten years, the Bureau has supported implementation of Quality Improvement principles in an effort to reduce loss to follow-up in state-based EHDI programs. (Loss to follow-up is the percentage of infants who do not pass their newborn hearing screening and are not known to have completed a diagnostic evaluation and/or be enrolled in early intervention services.) In 2013, recognizing the importance of spreading Quality Improvement to all EHDI programs as a means to reduce loss to follow-up, The National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management began providing Quality Improvement Technical Assistance to island EHDI programs (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Marshall Islands, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Mariana Islands) funded by the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. Island EHDI programs are held to the same standards and expected outcomes as state EHDI programs. However, islands face challenges that are significantly different from their state counterparts. As such, the Technical Assistance must be based on the needs, strengths, and capacities of each island. Participants in this session will hear case studies of how Quality Improvement and Technical Assistance provided by the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management have helped three island EHDI programs improve their processes and outcomes in an effort to reduce loss to follow-up. These island examples demonstrate the importance of 1) involving extended partners and parents in their improvement work; 2) finding creative solutions to common barriers in small, isolated hearing programs; and 3) the need for effective use of Quality Improvement principles.

  • Describe some unique barriers to small, isolated newborn hearing screening programs.
  • Explain how QI principles are used to reduce loss to follow-up.
  • Propose potential QI initiatives to reduce loss to follow-up in small, isolated newborn hearing screening programs.

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Alyson Ward (POC,Primary Presenter), National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, alyson.ward@usu.edu;
Alyson Ward has a M.S. in Health Education and a Certified Health Education Specialist certification and has worked in public health for over ten years. Alyson completed the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Improvement Advisor Professional Development program. She has been involved in health promotion, education, research, policy, evaluation, grant development, and grant review from the community to national levels. Currently, she directs the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management’s quality improvement (QI) technical assistance, which includes overseeing Improvement Advisors, managing an online QI learning collaborative, and serving as an Improvement Advisor to multiple Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs.
      ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


      AAA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Angie Mister (Co-Author), CNMI Public School System , angie.mister@gmail.com;
Angie Mister, Au.D CCC-A has been an audiologist with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Public School System for 21 years. Her position includes the coordination of audiological screenings, comprehensive hearing evaluations, fitting and management of hearing aids as well as providing support services to students with hearing loss birth-to- twenty-one. Dr. Mister assists educational teams in program placement decisions and participates in multidisciplinary team meetings. She counsels families, students and school personnel about the effects of hearing loss, both within and outside the classroom environment. In addition to this work, Dr. Mister has been instrumental in the coordination of the CNMI Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program. She is the Pacific (Region IXa) Network Consultant and Quality Improvement Advisor under the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM).
      ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


      AAA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.