ReviewAudiology research2025
Challenges of Newborn Hearing Screening Programs in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review.
Review in Audiology research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Delays in diagnosis and intervention for paediatric hearing loss: the role of parental psychological inflexibility in a multicentre Iranian study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesAlthough newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs have been successfully implemented in many countries worldwide, challenges to these programs have been reported in the literature, such as a lack of awareness among families and healthcare professionals and limited funding. Challenges to the NHS programs in Saudi Arabia have not been systematically reported. This study aimed to assess the level and quality of evidence supporting the existing challenges of the NHS programs in Saudi Arabia.
methodsA systematic review of all peer-reviewed literature on Saudi NHS programs published between 2016 and 2024 was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Search strategies were executed in seven databases. Data were collected from studies that met the inclusion criteria.
resultsA total of 37 records were reviewed, and 13 peer-reviewed publications met the inclusion criteria. Characteristics of included studies were classified by study language, study sample, sample size, location of the study sample, study purpose, and study method via evidence tables. Each study was critically appraised according to the quality. Results revealed that cross-sectional prospective description was the main research design with low strength of evidence. Six main challenges were identified and described: lack of awareness and gaps in knowledge, lost to follow-up, inadequate data entry, management, and tracking system, limited or absence of services in some residential areas, insufficient training and frequent changes of NHS personnel, and absence of a standardized NHS protocol.
conclusionsThis review may assist in overcoming these challenges and improving the NHS programs in Saudi Arabia. There is a need to establish national education campaigns about the NHS programs, improve documentation by using database management and tracking systems, and expand the early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) services for children in all Saudi regions.
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Registered trials
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