Newborn Screening Systems

Ensuring optimal health for newborns is a concern shared by a whole host of medical and allied health professionals. Clinicians, researchers, and policymakers from a diverse range of specialties regularly engage in collaborative practice in the first stage of attaining this goal; in the early detection of newborn diseases and disorders. In order to provide the highest quality of service, the Audiologist, for example, must not only be well versed in hearing screening systems, but also in genetic screening, as the new frontier of screening brings an amalgamation of these previously distinct systems. Until now, for those working/studying in the domain of neonatal health, there has been no single, up-to-date, all-inclusive information source on newborn screening programs. This title, by drawing on the knowledge of twenty clinical and research experts from varying fields, provides the only comprehensive text that details the entire collection of screening programs routinely delivered to newborns. Beginning chapters outline preliminary information applicable to all screening systems, for instance, the history and principles of screening, ethical and economic debates, along with thorough description of the conditions routinely screened for. Following are highly detailed chapters dedicated to the specific neonatal screening programs currently in use, as well as complimenting chapters that provide future directions for each field. Additional discussion of topical issues, such as the incorporation of genetic counseling into screening programs, optimal communication with families, and the advent of integrated, non-discipline specific, national data systems, are contained in the final chapters. This title assists the student in viewing their future neonatal clients as whole entities and in understanding the role of the other professionals with whom they shall closely interact. It allows the clinician to easily absorb the activities of screening programs on an international level, and the researcher to consider developments, outside of their immediate field, that may impact on their own research agenda. It allows the policymaker to make enlightened decisions concerning the development of newborn screening programs in their country. In fact, any reader with a rudimentary knowledge of pediatric health and an interest in newborn screening will find this title to be of invaluable worth.