Leveraging the universal newborn hearing screen to impact parental knowledge of childhood speech development in low socioeconomic populations: A randomized clinical trial

Objective: To determine the impact of a video intervention administered at the time of the universal newborn hearing screen on caregiver knowledge of infant cognitive and language development in low socioeconomic status English-speaking parents.

Methods: A parallel-group, single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted from April to August 2016. Eligible participants were at least 18 years, delivered a singleton neonate, English speaking, and designated as low socioeconomic status based on household income and level of education. A total of 112 patients, 54 treatment and 58 control, completed the study and were included in the analysis. The Baby Survey of Parent/Provider Expectations and Knowledge, a validated 24-item questionnaire assessing child development knowledge, was the primary study outcome. The survey was conducted at baseline, 1 day after intervention, and 4-6 weeks later. A one-way, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to evaluate for differences in the three time points.

Results: The average age of participants was 25.6 years and 85% identified as African-American. There was no significant difference in scores prior to and following the intervention for the control group (N = 58, F = 1.67, p = 0.19); however, a significant difference in scores was found in the treatment group (N = 54, F = 7.95, p < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis showed a significant improvement in scores 1 day after intervention, but no difference 4-6 weeks later.

Conclusion: Educational video intervention for low socioeconomic mothers at the time of the universal newborn hearing screen can positively increase knowledge related to hearing and language development in the short term.

Trial registration: Pilot Study of Novel Postpartum Educational Video Intervention NCT02267265 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02267265.