A comparative study of perspectives on telepractice service delivery among Egyptian and U.S. Speech and Language Pathologists

ABSTRACT

Scope: Although the discipline of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) was established in Egypt over 50 years ago, telepractice is a new concept in Egypt. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic providers adapted to an online therapy format. Materials & methods: The current study used a retrospective pretest–posttest design to identify differences in barriers facing SLPs practicing in the USA (N = 38) and Egypt (N = 41) using telepractice. The online questionnaire assessed the domains of technical barriers, the applicability of various types of therapy, caseload characteristics’ barriers, caregivers’ challenges, and the therapists’ input. Results: Therapists in both countries had concerns pre-telepractice regarding the availability of materials for online sessions, time spent for online session preparation, guaranteed confidentiality, and protection of client personal details in teletherapy. Most US therapists held a positive attitude towards the adaptability of various types of therapy for online sessions and the applicability of online sessions for new cases, toddlers & infants, preschoolers, adults & group sessions. On the other hand, Egyptian therapists expressed concerns regarding technical barriers such as lower frequency of sessions and internet connectivity problems while also experiencing more issues related to caseload characteristics. Conclusion: This study offers preliminary data on telehealth experiences in USA and Egypt that may direct future research into ways to increase service delivery and access.

KEYWORDS:

• Telepractice
• phoniatricians
• technical barriers
• internet problems
• types of therapy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The research was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee in Fayoum University with number (R 229). Filling in the online questionnaire is considered an approval of the participants.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Credit authorship contribution statement

AF constructed the study idea, interpreted the results and wrote the manuscript. MA shared in the construction and distribution of the questionnaire and in the revision of the manuscript. RA shared in the distribution of the questionnaire, writing and revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.