Priorities for post-stroke aphasia service development: Prioritisation phase of an experience-based co-design study.
Lisa Anemaat, Victoria J Palmer, David A Copland and 6 others
PMID 39967305WHAT IT FOUND
People with aphasia and clinicians prioritised a hospital chart alert system to flag aphasia and guide staff communication.
They also sought accessible mental health services and consistent care providers to reduce safety risks and emotional distress during inpatient stays.
Key findings
01The top priority for all stakeholder groups was improving hospital environments and patient safety for people with aphasia during in-patient stays.
02Four design principles were agreed to address this priority: chart alert systems, entertainment options, specific education/orientation, and supportive hospital environments.
03People with aphasia ranked accessible mental health services higher than self-management approaches or protection against online scams.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study reports priorities and themes, not clinical outcomes or effectiveness of interventions. Geographic diversity in the consensus and co-design phases was limited to metropolitan areas, though regional and remote stakeholders contributed to the initial survey data. Data collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced experiences of care compared to standard conditions. The sample size for the final co-design workshops was small (1 person with aphasia, 2 significant others, 4 speech pathologists).
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding was provided by The University of Queensland Aphasia Rehabilitation Research Fund and a Speech Pathology Australia New Researcher grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the proposed chart alert system or other design principles have been tested or proven to improve patient safety or outcomes. This study identifies what stakeholders want and prioritise, but it does not evaluate whether these changes work.