Aphasic patients in the hospital from the perspective of a healthcare team: implications for care.
Jéssica Soares Dos Anjos, Melissa Catrini
PMID 41059842WHAT IT FOUND
Staff described caring for patients with aphasia as frustrating and difficult because they could not understand speech.
They relied on guessing and wanted language clinicians to guide team communication.
Key findings
01Interviewed hospital professionals described limited or absent understanding of aphasia, and some linked it to mental health concerns.
02Professionals reported difficulty caring for patients with aphasia and described relying on guessing meaning from speech fragments, writing, gestures, or looks.
03Participants said a speech-language-hearing pathologist could help direct team care, but hospital speech-language-hearing work often emphasised swallowing.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was done in a public general hospital ward in Bahia, Brazil, so the team culture and resources may not match other settings. It interviewed professionals only, not patients or families, so it reports staff views about aphasia rather than patients' own experiences. Interviews were constrained by workplace scheduling and available time during shifts, which may have limited how deeply responses were explored. Confidentiality requirements prevented the authors from examining each professional category's specific role and interactions in detail.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that speech-language-hearing pathologist involvement improves care. It is a qualitative interview study of hospital professionals in a hospital ward, so it reports staff views, not tested outcomes.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →