Experiences and perspectives of UK speech and language therapists on telehealth assessment with people living with post-stroke aphasia.
Amanda Comer, Sarah Northcott, Nicholas Behn and 3 others
PMID 39987559WHAT IT FOUND
Therapists said online assessment worked best when they prepared the person and family, chose tasks that fit attention and communication needs, and kept face-to-face options.
They worried severe aphasia, poor internet, and missed cues could make assessment less reliable.
Key findings
01Therapists said telehealth assessment needed careful preparation, including a pre-assessment tech check, time to understand the platform, and short, structured sessions for people with high cognitive load.
02Family members or carers often helped with setup, pointing, and communication, but their involvement also raised concerns about privacy and whether the person was being prompted.
03Therapists preferred hybrid assessment, offering online and face-to-face choices rather than assuming telehealth replaces in-person assessment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study did not reach its planned sample size. Participants were recruited through convenience, purposive and snowball sampling, so their views may not represent all UK therapists. Most participants were from London and the South East of England. All participants were female and most were White, so the sample may not reflect the wider workforce in every respect. Many participants were self-employed or worked in private practice, which may not match NHS services. Focus groups were smaller than typical, so discussion dynamics may differ from larger groups. Facilitators knew some participants, which may have affected what was said. Participants did not review the final themes. The paper did not report the specific assessments used or the amount of telehealth experience.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that telehealth assessment is equivalent to face-to-face assessment for people with post-stroke aphasia. The paper reports therapists' experiences and concerns, not measured accuracy, reliability, or patient outcomes.