Research

Research is an important backbone of everything we do in the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology. It’s part (but not all) of the “evidence” in Evidence-based Practice (EBP). Access to the research is important but can be time consuming. Scroll down to find a few highlights of current and relevant research, and links to more information.

Most research remains relevant for many years or even decades. However, research focused on technology advancement or articles that make reference to state and national laws may become obsolete quickly, especially those relating to licensing, reimbursement, and teletherapy platforms. Before you rely on information, check the publication date!


Information on teletherapy research was recently curated by the Informed SLP team of scientists and clinicians.  Check out this excerpt for some basics, then visit theinformedslp.com for telehealth research on specific disorders and populations, including AAC, feeding & swallowing, Deaf/HH, aphasia, voice, and more!

What do ASHA’s Evidence Maps show?

According to ASHA’s Evidence Maps, there is evidence that telehealth can be equally as effective as in-person assessment and/or treatment of the following conditions:

There is some evidence for these conditions, but more/higher quality studies are needed:

Teletherapy Research

A Review of the Efficacy and Effectiveness of Using Telehealth for Paediatric Speech and Language Assessment

Telepractice for Adult Speech–Language Pathology Services: A Systematic Review

A Systematic Review of the Use of Telehealth in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

This paper will give you an overview of and citations for empirical research published before 2014!

Cultural Considerations for Telepractice: An Introduction for Speech-Language Pathologists

Ethical Considerations for Client-Centered Telepractice

Considering moving into telepractice, or already online? This is required reading, helpfully organized around hypothetical ethical and legal questions, some of which you’ve probably been asking yourself.

Getting Started in School-Based Speech–Language Pathology Telepractice

A Practical Guide to Establishing an Online Speech Therapy Private Practice

            More of an overview for establishing a long-term business model.

Privacy and Internet-Based Telepractice

More legal stuff:

Telepractice: An Overview and Best Practices 


____________________________________________________________________________

Schools, Safety, SLPs, and the Evidence

From The Informed SLP Blog.

Written by:
Meredith Harold, PhD, CCC-SLP
Katherine Sanchez, PhD, CPSP

Each month, we’ve been writing age-specific evidence reviews on COVID-19 for our members. This month [July 2020], we decided to give all SLPs our monthly update for free. We hope it helps.

COVID-19 continues, justifiably, to be the hot scientific topic of the year, as the number of publications mounts. In children, the evidence continues to suggest that:

  • The disease is milder than in adults (here, here, here, here), although infants under one year of age and children with comorbidities like chronic lung disease are at somewhat higher risk (here, here, here)
  • Despite children generally contracting the disease less, and having milder symptoms, the Kawasaki-like complications (a serious multi-inflammatory condition occurring in a tiny number of children with COVID-19) that we discussed last month in our membership site are still keeping us all on our toes (here, here, here, here)
  • Children don’t seem to transmit COVID-19 any more than adults, which is surprising, given that children are germ factories who are constantly “sharing”.

But now researchers are starting to think more broadly…

Increasingly, researchers are asking questions (and here) about the flow-on effects of the pandemic upon children, like:

  • Poorer access to ‘non-COVID19-related’ healthcare. We are seeing:
    • Decreased pediatric emergency presentations, with resultant severe illness and death
    • Cancelled or delayed routine child health checks
    • Delayed vaccine administration
    • Delayed access to diagnostic testing
    • Delayed access to appropriate treatment (example here)
  • Food insecurity, arising from financial instability and school closures
  • Decreased academic opportunities secondary to absence from school
  • Decreased opportunities for socialization
  • Decreased opportunities for physical activity
  • Decreased access to support workers and therapists for children with disabilities
  • Increased screen time as families struggle to combine childcare with working from home
  • Emotional and behavioral concerns related to lock-down
  • Increased rates of child abuse
  • Decreased access to welfare services

We still have more questions than answers, but as SLPs, we should be asking ourselves what we can do, not just to prevent the spread of disease, but to ameliorate the impact of the pandemic on the children we serve. Obviously telehealth has a huge role here, but could we also be doing more to link families in with other services? Might some of our goals need to shift to consider changes in behavior, mental health, academic and social opportunities, and parenting demands? Should we be doing more (cue spooky music) telehealth groups? Food for thought.

Continue reading here.