2027 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 22-24, 2027 • Bellevue, WA
3/17/2026 | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Addressing Rural Disparities: Lessons from EHDI Programs and Broader Healthcare Contexts | City Terrace 7
Addressing Rural Disparities: Lessons from EHDI Programs and Broader Healthcare Contexts
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs across the United States continue to face persistent challenges in addressing significantly lower rates of adherence to EHDI guidelines in rural areas. Generally, these issues revolve around access and follow-through. Specifically, in rural communities, many EHDI programs seek methods to: enhance the accessibility and quality of hearing screenings, increase the use and effectiveness of telehealth, boost the rates of early identification of hearing differences, and strengthen family-to-family support networks. This presentation will start with a brief introduction to this topic as it applies to Colorado EHDI. The bulk of this talk, however, will focus on providing a summary of quantitative and qualitative research regarding EHDI program interventions aimed at addressing these disparities, as well as an overview of practices used for broader healthcare initiatives that may inform EHDI practices in rural communities. By pinpointing practical, cross-sector approaches to this issue, this session aims to provide insights that may help to improve adherence to EHDI guidelines and to promote successful family-to-family support in rural communities.
- The participant will be able to name three causes of lower rates of adherence to EHDI guidelines often found in rural communities.
- The participant will be able to identify three practices used by EHDI programs that have proven to be successful in rural communities.
- The participant will be able to list three practices used in broader healthcare contexts to reduce disparities in rural communities.
Presentation:
View Presentation File
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Elizabeth Langer
(Primary Presenter), Colorado EHDI, elizabeth.langer@state.co.us;
Dr. Beth Langer is currently the Colorado EHDI Coordinator. Her clinical, research, and teaching work has mainly centered around assessment and intervention for children who are D/deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). Her work with this population has included clinical work as a Speech-Language Pathologist, as well as research assessing and analyzing the speech and language of children who are D/HH. For the 5 years directly before she became the COEHDI Coordinator, Beth worked at the University of Colorado-Boulder as part of the Outcomes & Developmental Data Assistance Center for EHDI Programs (ODDACE) team and the Early Language Outcomes (ELO) lab.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.