Poster The Joint Annual Meeting of the Stroke Society of Australasia (SSA) and Smartstrokes 2023

A comprehensive quality assessment program for aphasia after stroke: a multi-centre, mixed-methods study protocol (#129)

Sam Harvey 1 2 3 , Marissa Stone 1 2 3 4 , Sally Zingelman 1 2 3 , David Copland 1 2 3 , Monique Kilkenny 5 6 , Erin Godecke 2 7 8 , Carolyn Unsworth 9 , Robyn O'Halloran 2 10 , Kirstine Shrubsole 1 2 3 11 , Muideen Olaiya 6 , Annie J Hill 1 2 3 , Deborah Hersh 7 12 13 , Sarah J Wallace 1 2 3
  1. Queensland Aphasia Research Centre, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QUEENSLAND, Australia
  2. CRE in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  3. Surgical, Treatment And Rehabilitation Service Education and Research Alliance, , The University of Queensland and Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  5. The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  6. Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  7. School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  8. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  9. University Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
  10. School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  11. Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
  12. Australian Aphasia Association, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  13. Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Background: Aphasia is a language impairment resulting in communication disability and reduced quality of life. One in three stroke survivors experience aphasia. Treatment for aphasia is effective particularly when it is frequent, intensive, and tailored (Brady et al., 2016). However, clinicians do not routinely collect the data needed to tailor the right treatment, to the right person, at the right time (Wallace et al., 2022). To monitor and evaluate aphasia care, a minimum dataset has been developed by an international team of researchers, clinicians, and stroke survivors with aphasia and their families.

Aims: To pilot the implementation of a minimum dataset for stroke survivors with aphasia receiving routine clinical aphasia care.

Methods: This multi-centre implementation study will be conducted in acute and subacute stroke services within five health services across metropolitan Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia. The minimum dataset includes sociodemographic characteristics, quality indicators, treatment descriptors, and a core outcome set. To establish benchmarks of clinically meaningful change on the core outcome set, a consensus study will be undertaken to determine thresholds of important change, from the perspective of people with aphasia and speech pathologists. An embedded process evaluation, including patient questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with speech pathologists, will examine acceptability and feasibility of implementing the minimum dataset.

Results: The minimum dataset will provide standardised, routinely collected data across the aphasia care pathway to better understand post-stroke aphasia services, benchmarks of clinically meaningful change, and treatment outcomes. Barriers and facilitators to widespread implementation of the minimum dataset will be identified.

Conclusion: This study will be the first to implement a minimum dataset for people with post-stroke aphasia and will be a driving force in aligning best practice aphasia care with improved outcomes for people recovering from aphasia.

  1. Brady, M. C., Kelly, H., Godwin, J., Enderby, P., & Campbell, P. (2016). Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (6).
  2. Wallace, S. J., Worrall, L., Le Dorze, G., Brandenburg, C., Foulkes, J., & Rose, T. A. (2022). Many ways of measuring: A scoping review of measurement instruments for use with people with aphasia. Aphasiology, 36(4), 401-466.