Living successfully with aphasia: Family members share their views

Language and lifestyle changes experienced following the onset of aphasia extend beyond the individual to impact family members of persons with aphasia. Research exploring the meaning of living successfully with aphasia has explored the perspectives of individuals with aphasia and speech-language pathologists. Family members' views of living successfully with aphasia may also contribute valuable insights into positive adaptive processes and factors that may influence clinical interventions and community-based services for individuals with aphasia and their families. Purpose: To explore, from the perspectives of family members of individuals with aphasia, the meaning of living successfully with aphasia. Method: Twenty-four family members (nominated by individuals with aphasia) participated in semistructured in-depth interviews about living successfully with aphasia. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to identify themes relating to the meaning of living successfully with aphasia. Results: Seven themes were identified from analysis of family member participant transcripts: getting involved in life, support for the person with aphasia, communication, family members' own needs, putting life in perspective, focusing on and celebrating strengths and improvements, and experiences with services. Conclusion: Findings provide evidence to support previous research indicating that aphasia affects the whole family and not just an individual. The inclusion of family members as part of the rehabilitation team is indicated. Family members' needs and priorities must be considered in conceptualizing living successfully with aphasia to ensure family members are included in intervention programs

The co-construction of engagement in conversations of older people with aphasia

Social communication is an integral part of everyday living and plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining psychosocial wellbeing. Conversations are the most frequent communication activities of older people (Davidson, Worrall, & Hickson, 2003). There is evidence that aphasia impacts on a person’s ability to participate in social conversations. Since the functions of everyday conversations are both transactional and interactional, it is important to understand how engagement in conversations between people with aphasia and their family and friends is accomplished

An Investigation of the Standardised Patient Interview Rating Scale (SPIRS) for the Assessment of Speech Pathology Students in a Simulation Clinic

Standardised patients (SPs) are increasingly utilised in health sciences education to assist students in the development of clinical competencies, including interviewing skills. This study investigated the development and validation of a rating scale for formative assessment of speech pathology students in an interview with an SP. Participants in this study were 76 undergraduate speech pathology students and 10 clinical educators who participated in a simulated clinic module. As part of the module, pairs of students interviewed an SP portraying a parent of a child with speech delay. The Standardised Patient Interview Rating Scale (SPIRS) was developed to assess students’ foundation clinical competencies of communication, interviewing and professional practice skills. Students’ interviews were videotaped, rated individually on the SPIRS by the clinical educator, and later re-rated by an expert rater. Data were analysed to determine the content validity, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability of the tool. In addition, descriptive statistics were used to report student performance levels. Results indicated that the SPIRS had good content validity and internal consistency but that there may be some redundancy in individual items. An acceptable level of inter-rater reliability was achieved. Students generally scored highly, with non-verbal communication being the easiest and professional practice the most difficult skill to demonstrate. The SPIRS was found to be an appropriate tool for formative assessment of students in this simulated clinic module. Recommendations for improving its reliability were made. Further research is required to investigate use of the SPIRS as an assessment tool in other contexts utilising standardised patients

Reducing the risk of heart disease among Indian Australians: knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding food practices - a focus group study

BACKGROUND: Australia has a growing number of Asian Indian immigrants. Unfortunately, this population has an increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Dietary adherence is an important strategy in reducing risk for CHD. This study aimed to gain greater understanding of the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs relating to food practices in Asian Indian Australians. METHODS: Two focus groups with six participants in each were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. Verbatim transcriptions were made and thematic content analysis undertaken. RESULTS: Four main themes that emerged from the data included: migration as a pervasive factor for diet and health; importance of food in maintaining the social fabric; knowledge and understanding of health and diet; and elements of effective interventions. DISCUSSION: Diet is a complex constructed factor in how people express themselves individually, in families and communities. There are many interconnected factors influencing diet choice that goes beyond culture and religion to include migration and acculturation. CONCLUSIONS: Food and associated behaviors are an important aspect of the social fabric. Entrenched and inherent knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and traditions frame individuals\u27 point of reference around food and recommendations for an optimal diet

The impact of aphasia on the everyday communication of older people

Understanding the impact of aphasia on the everyday communication of older people is central to the provision of speech pathology services within gerontological care. Communication networks and skills change with age and thus, study of aphasia in ageing needs to reflect social communication pertinent to this population. Increased understanding of the impact of aphasia was sought by asking “What communication takes place in the daily lives of older people?

Assessment of student competency in a simulated speech-language pathology clinical placement

“This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology on 30 August 2013, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.3109/17549507.2013.809603.” http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2013.809603.Clinical education programs in speech-language pathology enable the transition of students’ knowledge and skills from the classroom to the workplace. Simulated clinical learning experiences provide an opportunity to address the competency development of novice students. This study reports on the validation of an assessment tool designed to evaluate speech-language pathology students’ performance in a simulated clinical placement. The Assessment of Foundation Clinical Skills (AFCS) was designed to link to concepts and content of COMPASS®: Competency Assessment in Speech Pathology, a validated assessment of performance in the workplace. It incorporates units and elements of competency relevant to the placement. The validity of the AFCS was statistically investigated using Rasch analysis. Participants were 18 clinical educators and 130 speech-language pathology students undertaking the placement. Preliminary results support the validity of the AFCS as an assessment of foundation clinical skills of students in this simulated clinical placement. All units of competency and the majority of elements were relevant and representative of these skills. The use of a visual analogue scale which included a pre-Novice level to rate students’ performance on units of competency was supported. This research provides guidance for development of quality assessments of performance in simulated placements

Meeting the needs of people with aphasia, their families and speech-language pathologists: tensions in the goal-setting process

Goal-setting is an integral part of rehabilitation and it has been proposed that poor outcomes may be attributed to a mismatch between the goals of clients and the rehabilitation team (van den Broek, 2005). The aim of this multisite qualitative study was to describe the goals of 50 people with aphasia and their family members and compare these to their treating speech-language pathologists’ goals. In-depth interviews revealed the primary tensions in the process revolved around the importance of the clinical relationship, the influence of context, the translation of goals, hope, information, and family members as clients

Community service providers' roles in supporting communication disability rehabilitation in Majority World contexts: An example from Ghana

Purpose: In Majority World countries, where speech-language pathology services are extremely limited, people with communication disabilities (PWCD) may seek help from a range of service providers. This qualitative research aimed to explore the nature of community services offered to people with communication disabilities who seek help in Accra, Ghana. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine individuals from three professions: pastors (3), doctors (3), and herbalists (3) exploring services that they may offer to PWCD seeking help. Interviews were analysed using Thematic Network Analysis. Result: Six global themes described beliefs about communication disability, types of intervention, explanations provided to people with communication disabilities, promoting communication, processes for selecting treatments, and links between service providers. Interventions encompassed physical, spiritual, psychosocial and environmental approaches, with the notion of plural beliefs interwoven through a number of themes. Conclusion: In Ghana, and other Majority World contexts, service providers in sectors not commonly associated with communication disability rehabilitation may have important roles to play in supporting people with communication disabilities. Understanding the contributions of other service providers may assist the growing profession of speech-language pathology to collaborate across sectors, to develop specific, culturally responsive approaches to service development

Clinical Educators’ Perceptions of Students Following a Simulation-Based Learning Program

Purpose: Clinical education is a key component of speech-language pathology university curriculum, whereby students have the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and practical skills learned in the classroom into a real workplace. However, more recently the availability of high quality, consistent clinical placements and learning experiences across the range of practice areas in the discipline is reducing. Therefore, alternative clinical learning opportunities that enable students to develop skills and competencies are being explored. Recently, replacing clinical time with a simulated learning program has been shown to achieve equivalent levels of clinical competency in speech pathology. However, it is unknown how simulation impacts on student learning in traditional clinical placements. Therefore, this research explored clinical educators’ perceptions of students undertaking clinical placements in their workplace immediately following a five-day simulation-based learning program related to the same area of practice. Method: Thirty-five clinical educators who supervised students in the workplace immediately after they completed the simulation program participated in semi-structured interviews. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative methods described by Graneheim and Lundman (2004). Result: The analysis identified four key themes related to the impact of students in the workplace, simulation priming students for learning, the importance of the transition from simulation-based learning to the workplace, and the role of simulation in clinical education programs. Conclusion: The use of simulation to support student learning and develop clinical skills and competencies in adult speech pathology practice is supported by workplace clinical educators. However, results of this study suggest that the simulation program needs to be embedded within the curriculum and clinical education program to enhance transition between learning experiences and maximize benefits of learning experiences in real workplace contexts

“Same But Different”: The Role and Perceptions of the Simulation Clinical Educator

Simulated learning programs are an important component of allied health education. Although the role of simulation clinical educators has been highlighted as critical for student learning within simulation, their perceptions of their role have not yet been investigated. This study aimed to explore the experiences of simulation clinical educators. Participants were ten simulation clinical educators who had supported speech-language pathology students’ learning during a 5-day simulation program focussed on speech-language pathology practice with adult clients in acute hospital and rehabilitation settings. Educators participated in individual semi-structured interviews exploring their role and their perceptions of the simulation-based learning program. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Three inter-related themes emerged from participants’ views. The major theme of Unique teaching and learning environment incorporated five subthemes: focus on teaching; safe learning environment; authenticity and engagement; structure and intensity of learning, and; feedback opportunities. Two additional themes were identified: Clinical educator role same but different, and Simulation bridges the gap between theory and practice. This study offers new insights into simulation clinical educators’ perceptions of their role when supporting students within simulation and highlight the importance of harnessing the unique benefits of simulation as a teaching pedagogy to maximize its impacts on student learning and justify its costs