Knowledge, attitudes and practices situation of children hearing screening among Chinese parents

Abstract Background Hearing loss is one of the most significant functional impairments in children, and the burden of the disease is increasing. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the knowledge, attitudes, and practices scores of parents in Nantong City regarding children hearing screening, and to investigate possible influencing factors. Methods A total of 451 parents in Nantong City were surveyed. Spearman correlation analysis and linear regression models were employed to explore the influencing factors of scores for different aspects of children’ s hearing screening among the parents. Results The mean scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practices dimensions among parents regarding children’s hearing screening were 9.74 ± 5.55, 64.24 ± 7.62, and 25.60 ± 4.80, respectively. The analysis of influencing factors indicated that gender was a common influencing factor across the three dimensions. In addition to gender, family history of ear diseases also influenced parents’ knowledge scores (β=-3.26, 95%CI: -5.91, -0.62). Age was an influencing factor for practices scores (β=-1.77, 95%CI: -3.46, -0.08). Conclusion Targeted educational campaigns should be conducted for specific populations to enhance parental knowledge and attitudes in children’s hearing screening.