Longitudinal and secular trends in outcomes for adolescents with hearing impairment in Victoria

Summary Longitudinal and secular trends in outcomes for adolescents with hearing impairment in Victoria

Project Details

The last 25 years have seen significant changes to methods of detection, intervention and services available to children born in Victoria with a hearing impairment. Universal newborn hearing screening, early intervention and cochlear implantation have revolutionised the opportunities for hearing-impaired children, but their language and learning still lag behind their hearing peers.

Several longitudinal cohort studies in Victoria have followed children through childhood to examine language, psychosocial, mental health and quality of life outcomes. The CHIVOS study (Children with Hearing Impairment in Victoria Outcome Study) followed children born in 1991 to 1993 (when detection was largely opportunistic) with follow up waves taking place at ages 7 to 8, 12 to 14 and 17 to 19. The SCOUT study (Statewide Comparison of Outcomes Study) followed children born a decade later between March 2003-February 2005 (when detection was via risk factor screening) and this cohort have been followed up at ages 5 to 6, 10 to 12 and will be aged 17 to 18 at next proposed follow up in 2021. The VicCHILD (Victorian Childhood Hearing Impairment Longitudinal Databank) study began in 2011/12, incorporating the SCOUT cohort (via informed consent) and inviting all children born in Victoria with a permanent hearing impairment from 2005 onwards into the study, with continuous follow ups of children aged 5-7 years and 10-12 years and proposed future follow up at ages 17-18 years.

We seek an outstanding doctoral researcher to examine longitudinal outcomes of the SCOUT cohort and secular trends in outcomes for adolescents born in Victoria with a hearing impairment over the last 25 years. This will involve assessment of the SCOUT cohort at age 17-18 years including parent- and child-reported outcomes, direct assessments, accessing academic (NAPLAN) results, and biological sampling. Examining secular trends will incorporate data already collected from the CHIVOS cohort.