Electropalatography (EPG) activities in Japan and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on EPG research and therapy: A report of presentations at the 7th EPG Symposium.
Alice Lee, Yuri Fujiwara, Marko Liker, Ichiro Yamamoto, Yoshiko Takei, Fiona Gibbon
PMID 35307940WHAT IT FOUND
This report describes how speech therapists in Japan adapted EPG therapy during lockdowns by using portable devices and telepractice.
It outlines procedural changes and safety measures but does not provide evidence that these adaptations improved patient outcomes.
What this paper is
This is a conference report and narrative review describing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on electropalatography (EPG) research and therapy in Japan. It summarizes presentations, discusses general infection control guidelines, and outlines procedural adaptations for telepractice. It does not present original methods or results from a controlled trial, so there are no new clinical outcomes to act on.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the described telepractice adaptations as proven effective. The paper reports that clinicians used these methods to continue service, but it presents no data showing that EPG teletherapy produced better or equal speech outcomes compared to face-to-face therapy.