Communication partner training in traumatic brain injury: a UK survey of Speech and Language Therapists’ clinical practice

ABSTRACT

Primary objective

To explore the clinical practice of communication partner training by Speech and Language Therapists for people with traumatic brain injury in the UK.

Study design

Online 97-item survey which addressed the practice of training both familiar and unfamiliar communication partners, and barriers and facilitators to implementation informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Participants

169 Speech and Language Therapists from private and public settings in the UK.

Results

While 96% reported training familiar communication partners, only 58% reported training unfamiliar communication partners. Therapists reported providing communication partner training consistent with best practice 43% of the time. Evidence-based published programmes were used by 13.8% and 19.9% of participants for training familiar and unfamiliar partners, respectively. Therapists reported using outcomes for familiar and unfamiliar communication partners 83% and 78% of the time. The most frequently reported barrier was lack of behavioral regulation (e.g., planning). Most frequent perceived facilitators were clinicians wanting to deliver communication partner training and that training was part of therapists’ professional role (social professional role and identity).

Conclusions

Therapists were motivated to deliver communication partner training but reduced capability affected implementation. Further support to clinicians on outcome measurement with materials to develop workplace systems to monitor implementation is needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• communication partner training
• cognitive-communication
• rehabilitation
• outcome measures
• survey

Disclosure of funding

Funding was obtained through a pump-priming grant from City, University of London.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.