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Project Name: Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention (H61)
Applicant Title: Puerto Rico Department of Health
Abstract Text: The Puerto Rico Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program (UNHSP) is a vital initiative that responds to the pressing needs of the deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children and their families in PR. This project strives to enhance language acquisition outcomes for D/HH children, providing them with equitable opportunities to thrive in their early years. Through this project, the UNHSP will have the opportunity to address the needs (1) for early identification of hearing loss to prevent language, cognitive, and socioemotional development delays; (2) to consider the diversity and inclusion of the population in PR, especially underserved communities, by ensuring equitable access to services and addressing gaps in language support; and (3) quality of life for D/HH children by fostering language acquisition and creating a solid foundation for their healthy growth and development. UNHSP will implement a multi-faceted approach that will address those needs by providing: ?Comprehensive Family Support: Family-to-Family support and services will be a core component to provide outreach, education, and support to families in promoting positive communicative experiences for their D/HH children. ?Technical Assistance and Training: Ongoing technical assistance, training, and learning collaboratives will be facilitated by network centers to help healthcare and early intervention providers understand the importance of the 1-3-6 recommendations and early screening, within the first six months for D/HH children. ?Infrastructure Enhancement: An infrastructure assessment will be conducted to identify gaps and build partnerships to ensure efficient screening, diagnosis, identification, enrollment, and referral processes. ?Language Acquisition Milestones: A critical aspect for UNHSP will include research to establish language development milestones and outcomes for D/HH children that will support their cognitive and socioemotional development. This project not only addresses the needs of D/HH children in PR, particularly those under age 3, but its impact will extend to their families and the providers who serve them, such as healthcare professionals, audiologists, speech language pathologists, early intervention providers, early care and education programs, home visiting programs, birthing centers, hospitals, and related organizations. Also, the project’s emphasis on the need to reach out to underserved populations within Puerto Rico will ensure that language acquisition support is accessible to all. The Puerto Rico Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program is committed to making a significant impact on the early identification and language acquisition outcomes of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and create a brighter future for them and their families.