Towards a core outcome set for dysarthria after stroke: What should we measure?
Claire Mitchell, Kate Woodward-Nutt, Annette Dancer and 8 others
PMID 38374687WHAT IT FOUND
For post-stroke dysarthria, stroke survivors, speech-language therapists and researchers agreed four outcome domains to measure: intelligibility, conversation participation, living well, and, where relevant, communication partner skills.
Key findings
01The final agreed core outcome set has four domains: intelligibility of speech, ability to participate in conversations, living well with dysarthria, and communication partner skills and knowledge, the last included where relevant.
02The agreed domains must consider context and environmental factors such as background noise and emotional state.
03The final domains were grouped from 40 outcomes considered critical out of 70 outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Stroke survivor recruitment was limited, especially through social media, so the survivor input may have been more regional than national. The stroke survivor group included only a small number of people from black, Asian or other minority ethnic backgrounds. The study was carried out only in the UK and Australia. Demographic data were not collected from therapists or researchers. The study agreed what outcomes to measure, not how to measure them or whether treatments work.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Stroke Association and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these domains already have agreed measurement tools or that treating them improves outcomes. This study agreed what to measure, not how to measure it or whether interventions work.