Improving hearing screening and intervention systems (IHSIS): Lessons from a quality improvement project in 53 states and territories nationwide

The systems of care involved with identifying, diagnosing, and linking a child with hearing loss to intervention services span many state and local systems of care. That makes it a complex system that requires collaboration and effective and timely transfer of information. Improving Hearing Screening and Intervention Systems (IHSIS) is a national quality improvement project aimed at increasing the rate of documented follow-up and intervention services for infants with hearing loss. NICHQ (the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality) partnered with the Health Resources and Service Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau to engage 53 states and territories in a collaborative effort to enhance the performance of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs. Using quality improvement methods, states have tried various small scale change strategies before dedicated large amounts of state resources. This has allowed them to better assess what changes are leading to improvement and then spread successful changes throughout the system, as well as improve data collection and reporting processes. IHSIS is a model for state health department quality improvement programs. The collaborative resulted in improved and more efficient systems of care for infants with hearing loss, as well as multiple strategies for strengthening partnerships, collaboration and information sharing. In this session, we will share results and lessons learned, discuss innovative and promising models, and provide recommendations for future QI efforts especially as they apply to similar topic areas or settings. This is session 1 of 4 in a panel titled, “Applying quality improvement in public health systems for maternal and child health.”