Emotional and Psychological Effects of Dysphagia: Validation of the Jugendwerk Dysphagia Emotion and Family Assessment (JDEFA).

Only German-speaking people with internet access who completed an online survey were included, so it may not represent patients or families without online access. People with severe communication barriers, aphasia, cognitive impairment or motor handicaps were not reached, and the sample was predominantly women. The sample was small and self-selected; 95 of 169 completed the survey, and the paper reports 70 premature dropouts. Descriptive data suggest the included patients and family members were mild to moderate affected, so severe dysphagia cases were not obtained. Criterion validity was not assessed; the questionnaire was not compared with established swallowing or psychological scores. It measured only five basic emotions and two feelings, and the analysis did not test empathic accuracy or treatment outcomes. The questionnaire may be too long for fatigued or cognitively impaired patients, and the authors indicate shortening is needed.

Do not treat the JDEFA as a proven clinical tool for changing dysphagia care. It was tested in a small, self-selected German-language online survey and still needs testing against other swallowing and emotional assessments.