Status and gaps in newborn hearing screening in South Africa: A cross-sectoral review

Newborn hearing screening (NHS) is recognised as a key component of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI). In South Africa, implementation remains inconsistent across provinces and health sectors, with limited national coordination and policy support. Updated data are needed to identify progress and persisting gaps in service delivery....

✦ Clinical Takeaway ✦

No single new clinical action is indicated, but audiologists and programme administrators involved in newborn hearing screening in South Africa (or comparable settings) should use these identified gaps as a checklist for local programme audits.

✦ Why It Matters ✦

A cross-sectoral view of newborn hearing screening gaps provides the evidence base needed to drive policy reform and resource allocation for early hearing detection in South Africa.

✦ Key Points ✦

01Cross-sectoral review identifies inconsistent implementation of newborn hearing screening (NHS) across South Africa.
02EHDI (early hearing detection and intervention) programme rollout varies widely between healthcare sectors and regions.
03Systemic, policy, and resource-level gaps are the primary barriers identified.
04The review provides a national-level evidence base to inform targeted interventions and policy updates.
05Findings complement single-site studies (e.g., Western Cape hospital data) to build a broader picture.

✦ Claims & Evidence ✦

ClaimEvidenceSupport

Newborn hearing screening implementation in South Africa is inconsistent across sectors and does not uniformly meet EHDI programme standards.

studysupported

There are significant gaps in South Africa's early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programmes.

studysupported

✦ Research metadata ✦

PMID: 42240316
DOI: 10.4102/sajcd.v73i1.1165.
Journal: South African Journal of Communication Disorders
Publication type: review
Evidence level: 2a
Population: Newborn hearing screening programmes across multiple sectors in South Africa
Intervention: Cross-sectoral review of newborn hearing screening and EHDI programme implementation

Primary outcomes

Status of newborn hearing screening implementation across sectors; Identification of gaps in EHDI programme delivery

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