Epidemiology of Newborn Hearing Loss on the West Bank

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Palestine confronts many obstacles in its path towards achieving the goals of a sovereign state. Amongst these are impediments that hinder Palestine's ability to optimize its healthcare system. In part, these obstacles are the result of a lack of evidence-based health data for programmatic decision making. In addition to the problems that being a low- to middle-income country (LMIC) and gaps in public health data cause for the Palestinian medical system, societal characteristics (e.g., consanguinity) can also negatively impact healthcare goals. The combination of these considerations can have dire health consequences for the individual as well as for the wellbeing of the nation. For example, childhood hearing loss (HL) can lead to delayed language acquisition and, thus, negatively affect the child's ability to learn and communicate. Such outcomes often result in a limit on the affected person's ability to achieve their full potential as a member of society. For Palestine, HL may be a greater problem than in other LMICs because of consanguinity that can be found in up to 40% of marriages. Consanguinity has been shown to increase the number of genetically related diseases in a community. When these considerations are understood against the backdrop of childhood hearing disorders, the dire implications for Palestine are magnified. Because there is a lack of data about the incidence of childhood HL in Palestine, and limited evidence about its etiology that includes the role of genetics versus infection or other causes of pediatric HL, this proposal may have potential positive benefits for both the individual and the community at large. Additionally, because Children's Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University serve the largest Arab community outside of the Middle East, what is learned about childhood HL in Palestine may have benefits to the children and families that they serve in Detroit and in Southeast Michigan.