Aphasia partnership training: What outcomes do people with aphasia, family members and speech and language therapists expect?
Rebecca Palmer, Katerina Hilari, Carla Magdalani and 7 others
PMID 39977829WHAT IT FOUND
People with aphasia and families prioritise better conversation and less frustration over improved speech or doing more activities.
Therapists should focus goals on communication strategies and emotional well-being, noting that families value relationship changes more than patients do.
Key findings
01All stakeholder groups agreed that improving conversation and reducing frustration were the most important outcomes, with conversation ranked higher than emotional well-being.
02There was disagreement about the importance of improving speech (language): it was the top priority for people with aphasia but considered unimportant by family members, and therapists did not reach consensus on its likelihood of change.
03Improving relationships was rated as very important by family members and therapists, but only important (not very important) by people with aphasia.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Participants were asked to imagine outcomes of an intervention they had not experienced, which may have led to different responses than if based on actual treatment. The groups were kept separate; people with aphasia, families, and therapists did not vote on or see each other's ideas, which may have increased disagreement or 'silence' on certain items. The sample of therapists was relatively small (28 participants) and included researchers, which may not fully represent general clinical practice. Ethnic diversity was limited; while 20% of people with aphasia identified as Black African, other high-risk groups like Asian/Pakistani were not represented, and all family members were White British.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improving speech or language impairment is the primary goal for the family unit. The study found that while people with aphasia valued this, their family partners did not consider it important, and therapists were uncertain if it would change. Focusing solely on linguistic gains may miss the dyad's actual priorities of better conversation flow and reduced frustration.