Changes of Lived Experience in Persons with Aphasia Subsequent to the COVID-19 Outbreak: a Qualitative Study to Reflect Perspectives of Aphasia Service Receivers and Providers

EasyChair Preprint no. 6431

Abstract

Introduction

This study aimed to examine changes of lived experience and access to aphasia-specific ST services among PWA (and caregivers) during different outbreak phases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. The perception on the quality and effectiveness of these services amid COVID-19 were also compared between service receivers (i.e. PWA and caregivers) and providers (i.e. speech therapists).

Methods

Semi-structured interviews are being conducted involving 15 PWA (and their caregivers), and 10 speech therapists from five clinical settings. In particular, service receivers were guided to individually report their health-care related, psychosocial, and financial impacts, experiences with changes/constraints in receiving ST services, and perceptions towards the use and efficacy of teletherapy across different phases of the outbreak. As for the clinicians, they were guided to summarize their practice amid the pandemic (with a specific focus on implementation of telepractice to PWA and clients’ responses to this transition of training), and to reflect their perceptions on the effectiveness and limitations (i.e., pros and cons) of service delivery.

Analysis of collected data was performed using a content analysis to determine the reported changes towards lived experience and to compare different perspectives towards the implementation of telepractice of aphasia training. Moreover, net promoter scores (NPS) and Likert scales were used, respectively, to measure changes in satisfaction on telepractice as well as perceived difficulties in telepractice delivery and psychological impacts.

Results

Final results will be presented. This will allow us to better understand any mismatch between the actual aphasia services provided by speech therapists and the lived experience (and expectations) of service receivers in Hong Kong as they were navigating the pandemic.

Keyphrases: aphasia, COVID-19, lived experience

@Booklet{EasyChair:6431,
  author = {Anthony Pak Hin Kong and Wai Tat Chang},
  title = {Changes of Lived Experience in Persons with Aphasia Subsequent to the COVID-19 Outbreak: a Qualitative Study to Reflect Perspectives of Aphasia Service Receivers and Providers},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 6431},

  year = {EasyChair, 2021}}