Objective: To determine knowledge, attitude and practices among audiologists towards Neonatal Hearing Screening (NHS).
Methodology: This cross-sectional study used convenience sampling and included 110 practicing audiologists having at least one years’ experience of working in either Public and Private hospitals and clinics in Rawalpindi & Islamabad. The Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Questionnaire was used to collect responses. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 26.
Results: A high level of knowledge, positive attitude, and practices for NHS were noted. 93.6% reported it to be very important to screen all infants for hearing loss (HL) and 86.4% reported confidence, and 76.4% gave positive response about awareness of NHS availability while 52.7% reported unavailability of screening program in their work setting. The majority of the audiologists (86.4%) considered NHS as worth its cost while 97.3% insisted for referral and follow up in case child fails initial screening. It expressed a need and a strong preference for action-oriented resources.
Conclusion: Audiologists are aware of benefits of NHS and exhibited positive knowledge, attitude and practices. They drew attention to the gaps that need due attention and keen insight of the policy makers.
Key words: Attitude, audiologists, hearing loss, knowledge, neonatal hearing screening.
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