Mental Health and Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Hearing Impairment (2015-2024) 

Project Team Members (OUS):
Kristin Romvig Øvergaard, Beate Ørbeck, Svein Friis, Karine Wagner, Beate Øhre 

The project goal was to increase knowledge about mental health challenges and quality of life in children and adolescents with hearing impairment.

This project can provide important information about parent- and self-reported mental health challenges and quality of life in Norwegian children and adolescents with hearing impairment, as well as the actual occurrence of registered, clinical psychiatric diagnoses in this group. By assessing this, along with the reasons for referral, age at receipt of mental health care, and comparing it to the general child population in BUP, there is an opportunity to improve the treatment trajectory for this group. The project is thus beneficial for the patients and for the organization of their healthcare services.

Project Description:
Internationally, there is an increased prevalence of mental disorders among the hearing impaired, but representative Norwegian studies are lacking, and actual figures are not available. The assessment "Service offerings to the deaf with mental disorders" (Norwegian Board of Health Supervision, 2001) further states that the extent of mental health services for children and youth (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services - BUP) for this group does not meet the needs, including significant difficulties in referring treatment-requiring deaf individuals to BUP.

Publications:

Oerbeck B, Ohre B, Zeiner P, Pripp AH, Wagner K, Overgaard KR (2022). What can a national patient registry tell us about psychiatric disorders and reasons for referral to outpatient services in youth with hearing loss? Nordic J Psychiatry 76(5):365-371. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2021.1979095. 

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Wagner K, Friis S, Ohre B, Zeiner, P (2021). Youth with hearing loss: Emotional and behavioral problems and quality of life. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 145 Pages 110718. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2021.110718