Eades, Caelyn Jessica2021-06-292021-06-292021https://hdl.handle.net/10092/102134http://dx.doi.org/10.26021/11190Universal newborn hearing screening and early intervention programmes (UNHSEIPs) plays a vital role in the identification of congenital deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, and the provision of interventions to facilitate appropriate language development. Parental involvement has been identified as a modifiable factor in the language development of DHH children. Parents are also expected to become experts in their child’s hearing abilities, navigation of services, and habilitation options. This makes parents’ experiences an important consideration in UNHSEIP. The aim of this study was to explore the ways parents constructed their experiences of UNHSEIP in NZ. This included any associated support systems, as defined by the parents involved. Fifteen parents completed an online qualitative survey, that asked about their experiences. Two of those parents also participated in a semi- structured interview. All responses were collated and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), within a social constructionist epistemology and relativist ontology. Three distinct themes were generated. These were related to each other to form the overarching theme that parents’ experiences were constructed by how the demands of the process were created or mitigated; (1) “A very stressful journey, even with the right support it was hard”; (2) “Who is organising?”, navigating the process; (3) family-clinician interactions. Clinicians and surrounding support networks should be aware of the effect that they have in creating or mitigating demands during the process, ultimately affecting parent’s perceptions of UNHSEIP.enAll Rights ReservedTheses / Dissertations