A good quality neonatal hearing screening programme in youth health care has been established in the Netherlands. However, both participation in diagnostic testing after a positive screen result and the timing of the diagnostic testing can still be improved.

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The objective of this study was to investigate whether universal neonatal hearing screening could be integrated in the youth health care program. The screening was performed by nurses of the well baby clinics. A three stage transient evoked otoacoustic emission screening was performed in three different screening settings in order to study the most effective set up regarding participation, refer rates, and costs. In one setting parents visited the well baby clinic, and in two settings babies were screened at home (either in combination with the screening for metabolic diseases or during an intake visit). Screening was performed on 3114 healthy newborns. The setting where universal neonatal hearing screening is integrated with the screening for metabolic diseases, proved to be most efficient and effective. The participation rate of 88.9% was highest in this setting and the overall refer rate (1.4%) was the lowest. The implementation of universal neonatal hearing screening by the well baby clinic nurses was judged to be possible. The results of this study formed the basis for nationwide implementation.

Background Late language emergence is a risk indicator for developmental language disorder. Parent‐implemented early language intervention programmes (parent programmes) have been shown to have positive effects on children's receptive and expressive language skills. However, long‐term effectiveness has rarely been studied. Additionally, little is known about which strategies parents learn to use after participating in parent programmes and whether this affects their child's language development. Aims To evaluate medium‐ and long‐term effectiveness (1 and 2 years after inclusion) of a low‐dosage parent programme in a sample of late talkers (LTs) with an expressive language delay. Specifically, we investigated which strategies the parents learned to use in interaction with their child and which strategies were associated with child language growth over time. Methods & Procedures This quasi‐experimental study with a longitudinal design included 24‐month‐old LTs. After the pre‐test, parents of children in the intervention group received a parent programme (n = 30), while parents of children in the comparison group received care as usual (n = 30). Children's language development was assessed using standardized language tests at pre‐test and two follow‐up tests at 36 and 48 months of age. Change in parental communicative behaviour was measured by a parent–child interaction observation measure, at pre‐test and follow‐up at 36 months of age. Outcomes & Results At 36 months old, children in the parent programme group showed a significantly higher growth in expressive vocabulary than children in the comparison group. However, differences between the groups were not seen in the long‐term, at the 48‐month follow‐up. In contrast to parents in the comparison group, parents in the parent programme group changed their communicative behaviour positively in two domains: Interaction and Pressure on the child. However, no changes in the domains of Language Stimulation and Responsiveness were observed. Children's growth in expressive vocabulary and expressive syntax was associated with a decrease in the domain of Pressure. Conclusions & Implications At 4 years of age, the majority of children in both groups achieved expressive vocabulary scores within the normal range. However, the mean score for expressive syntax in both groups remained below that of their peers, and 29% of the children still had expressive language scores below the mean range. Ongoing monitoring of LTs’ language development is necessary in order to make decisions regarding the timing and nature of intervention.

False-positive UNHS test results do not cause long-term general parental anxiety. However, 6 months after screening, a considerable proportion of parents continued to experience hearing-specific worries regarding their child.