Understanding why families decline cochlear implantation despite candidacy is critical for optimizing counseling and improving access to hearing rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical, demographic, and psychosocial factors associated with parental refusal of cochlear implantation among eligible pediatric candidates.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and cochlear implant teams should systematically document and address parental refusal factors—such as cultural attitudes, fear of surgery, and Deaf community identity—as these are modifiable barriers that informed counseling strategies can target.
Identifying and addressing the reasons parents decline cochlear implantation could reduce delays in hearing rehabilitation for eligible children and improve equity of access.
- 01Retrospective cohort design used to identify factors driving parental refusal of pediatric cochlear implantation.
- 02Barriers likely include cultural, linguistic, surgical-risk, and informational factors (common in the literature).
- 03Findings aim to improve counseling protocols and shared decision-making.
- 04Improving parental acceptance rates could expand access to hearing rehabilitation for children.
- 05Results have direct implications for pre-implant counseling workflows in CI programs.
Certain identifiable factors are associated with parental refusal of cochlear implantation in eligible pediatric candidates.
studysupported- PMID
- 42921742
- DOI
- 10.1177/19160216261485554.
- Journal
- Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 3
- Population
- Parents of pediatric cochlear implant candidates who refused implantation
- Intervention
- Retrospective analysis of factors associated with parental refusal of cochlear implantation
- Comparator
- Parents who consented to cochlear implantation
Primary outcomes
Factors associated with parental refusal of cochlear implantation; Frequency and types of refusal reasons