PURPOSE: to identify the clinical applicability of neonatal hearing screening in the routine of neonatologist pediatrician doctors in the city of Maceió-AL. METHODS: an cross-section analytical study was carried out with 36 neonatologist pediatricians through the application of a questionnaire with six objective questions. RESULTS: it was observed that 88.9% of neonatologist pediatricians know on neonatal hearing screening; however, 11.1% do not know./ In the private health service, 66.1% refer all the newborn babies to the screening in their routine. In the public service, only 7.4% refer all the newborn babies and 42.8% do not. In relation to the Municipal Law number 5.555/06, which makes the neonatal hearing screening compulsory in the maternities and similar establishments in the city of Maceió, 41.7% of the doctors have declared not knowing. Just 36.1% have stated knowing the speech pathology related work in the prevention of deafness. CONCLUSION: in this study, it can be concluded that the neonatal hearing screening is inserted in the clinical routine of the majority of the neonatologist pediatrician doctors that work in the particular health service. However, there is a lack of resources for implementing and continuing the program in the public service and there is very little knowledge on the role of the speech pathologist in preventing deafness.
Neonatal Screening; Hearing Loss; Pediatrics
