Help Define the Dysphagia Evaluation

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Help Define the Dysphagia Evaluation

• By guest student bloggers Jillian DiTota, BS
  Victoria Abolafia, BA
• Graduate Students from Southern Connecticut State
  University

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• Authors of the Survey Clinical Preferences and
  Practices of Speech-Language Pathologists for
  Swallowing Evaluation
• (Blog edited by Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP,
  BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com)

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• Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice
• Our first ever Communication Disorders lecture in
  college was structured around Evidence-Based
  Practice and its immense significance. The
  professor couldnt stress enough the huge role
  that research plays in guiding our care for
  people who have difficulties communicating and/or
  swallowing. Evidence from the literature is
  crucial, whether we are working with voice,
  speech, language, or cognitive issues or
  performing a swallowing evaluation (aka,
  dysphagia evaluation) or treatment session.
• It seemed poetic Delicately reported data made
  widely available for SLPs to help those in need.
• It made us sound like superheroes, and it sparked
  our interest!

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• The idea of adding to this body of evidence to
  support patients from a distance was what
  inspired us to choose this research path in our
  graduate program. We were enticed with the idea
  that our work will not only help patients, but
  also it will help fellow clinicians. This is
  something that is not directly taught in graduate
  school.

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• Background of Our Work
• Our background research began by reading as many
  articles as possible, including the work of our
  supervisor, Dr. Heather Warner Ph.D., CCC-SLP
  (Assistant Professor at the Department of
  Communication Disorders at Southern Connecticut
  State University). We wanted our research to be
  as valuable to SLPs as the nurse-administered Yale
  Swallow Protocol.This is just one example of the
  beneficial literature to which our supervisor has
  contributed (1). We quickly learned of the
  enormous body of literature filled with valuable,
  inspiring, and important research. To narrow our
  area of interest, we focused on a specific aspect
  of speech-language pathology to which we wished
  to add.

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• As practicing clinicians, we strive to
  continuously re-evaluate our clinical practice to
  ensure that it is well aligned with what the
  current literature tells us about best practice.
  In 1999, Dr. Gary McCullough and colleagues
  surveyed practicing SLPs regarding their clinical
  practice in the area of swallowing assessment
  (2). His findings were instrumental in providing
  us with information about how SLPs were
  conducting swallowing evaluations at the time. It
  allowed clinicians to determine if what they were
  doing was supported by evidence in the literature
  or popular opinion. This desire to allow evidence
  to drive our practice should be something we are
  constantly striving for in our daily practice,
  particularly in the critical clinical area of the
  dysphagia evaluation (aka, swallowing evaluation
  or swallowing assessment).

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• The McCullough study provided important
  information for our field however, we must
  realize that this research was published 18 years
  ago. New clinicians have entered the field, and a
  plethora of dysphagia evaluation research has
  since been published. Given the importance of
  this clinical question and continued relevance in
  our field, it is important for the data to be
  updated.
• Why Should You Take Our Survey?
• By participating in this survey, about your
  current clinical practice in swallowing
  evaluation (dysphagia evaluation), you will
  contribute to an in-depth review of how the
  literature compares to current clinicians
  preferences and practices. It takes 15-20 minutes
  to complete, and you will be contributing to
  valuable research and an eventual resource to
  guide our current clinical practice.

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• Thank you in advance for taking the time to
  contribute to this important clinical question!
  We look forward to sharing our findings with
  you. 
• References
• 1. Warner, H. L., Suiter, D. M., Nystrom, K. V.,
  Poskus, K., Leder, S. B. (2014). Comparing
  accuracy of the Yale Swallow Protocol when
  administered by registered nurses and
  speech-language pathologists. Journal of clinical
  nursing, 23(13-14), 1908-1915.
• 2. McCullough, G. H., Wertz, R. T., Rosenbek, J.
  C., Dinneen, C. (1999). Clinicians preferences
  and practices in conducting clinical/bedside and
  videofluoroscopic swallowing examinations in an
  adult, neurogenic population. American Journal of
  Speech-Language Pathology, 8(2), 149-163.

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• References link http//www.swallowstudy.com/help-
  define-the-dysphagia-evaluation/
• For More Information Please Visit us
  http//karensheffler.com/
• Email KarenSheffler_at_SwallowStudy.com