Investigation of the knowledge, experiences, and opinions of Speech and Language Pathologists on assessments and therapies for cognitive communication disorders in people with Alzheimer's disease - A cross-sectional survey in Turkey

Abstract

Objective: To examine the knowledge, experiences, and opinions of Speech and Language Pathologists’ (SLP) in Turkey concerning cognitive communication assessments and therapies applied in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Materials and Methods: This study conducted a cross-sectional survey consisting of 24 questions, 17 of which were answered by all participants and 7 answered only by people who have worked people with AD. Questionnaires were sent to the graduated SLPs via social media and mail groups.
Results: A total sample was obtained from 145 individuals (130 females, 15 males) with a mean age of 21.4 ± 6.288 years. Of the SLPs, 82.1% had never given therapy to an individual with AD. In addition, 89% of SLPs stated that they did not know that other occupational groups were working with AD. Of the SLPs, 92.4% stated that patients in the mild stage, 89% of patients in the intermediate stage, and 45.5% of patients in the advanced stage could benefit from therapy.
Conclusion: This is the first study in Turkey to examine the knowledge, experiences, and opinions of SLPs about assessments and therapies for cognitive communication disorders in people with AD. In this study, it was observed that SLPs lack general knowledge, assessment, therapy practice, and experience with cognitive communication disorders in the AD population. In particular, if a separate course for cognitive communication disorders is not offered in the undergraduate curriculum, this could be arranged in the educational content of cognitive communication disorders, such as dementia, and be explained in detail. Thus, SLPs’ knowledge levels would be increased.

Keywords

• Alzheimer
• dementia
• Speech and Language Pathologist
• cognitive communication

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