Integrating community health workers into a community hearing health collaborative to understand the social determinants of health in children with hearing loss

Background: Children with hearing loss (HL) require coordination of care to navigate medical and social services. Strong evidence supports the role of community health workers (CHWs) to identify and address social barriers.

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of integrating CHWs into the medical teams of children with HL and identify the social needs associated with their caregivers at a large urban hospital center.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for 30 children with HL whose caregivers enrolled in a CHW program between August 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019. Baseline demographic data were collected, including social circumstances such as food and housing insecurity, status of social security supplemental income (SSI), and need for referral to early intervention (EI) or preschool/school services. Caregivers were assessed for confidence in self-management; baseline distress level was measured via a distress thermometer.

Results: Of the 30 charts reviewed, 93% demonstrated social needs including food insecurity (24%) and educational service needs (45%). Eighty-seven percent of caregivers reported a sense of control over the child's condition, yet 73% reported a stress level of four or greater on the distress thermometer scale. At 3 months follow-up, 70% of patients completed referrals; a significant number of patients had obtained hearing aids and cochlear implants compared to baseline (p = 0.017).

Conclusions: Caregivers of children with HL face multiple social obstacles, including difficulties connecting to educational and financial resources. CHWs are instrumental in identifying social needs and connecting caregivers to services.