Perez Hector R, Doig-Acuña Camilo, Starrels Joanna L
Primary Care Research Fellow, New York University School of Medicine, 227 East 30th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Nov;30(11):1639-44. doi: 10.1007/s11606-015-3302-x. Epub 2015 Apr 9.
For adults who stutter, communication difficulties can impact many spheres of life. Previous studies have not examined how stuttering might impact patient's experiences with the medical system.
Our objective was to understand the range and depth of experiences with the medical system among adults who stutter.
This was a qualitative study using age-stratified focus groups.
Sixteen adults who stutter were recruited at a national conference about stuttering.
We conducted three focus groups. Participants also completed a written questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and the impact of stuttering on their life [using the St. Louis Inventory of Life Perspectives Scale (SL-ILP-S) Total Effect Score]. We analyzed data using an iterative, thematic analysis, with an inductive approach, at a semantic level.
Participants were mostly (75 %) male and resided throughout the United States. The mean SL-ILP-S Total Effect Score was 27.3, indicating that stuttering caused minimal concern in participants' lives. Despite this, we identified five themes that characterize ways in which stuttering affects interactions with the medical system. Participants described (1) discomfort speaking with office staff and physicians, which resulted in (2) avoiding health care interactions because of stuttering, and (3) relying on a third party to navigate the medical system. During visits with physicians, participants felt that (4) discussing stuttering with physicians required trust and rapport, and (5) speaking assertively with physicians required self-acceptance of their stuttering.
We identified ways in which stuttering affects medical interactions. These results highlight the need for increased awareness and training for medical staff and physicians when caring for persons who stutter. Future studies among diverse samples of stutterers can determine the effects of stuttering on medical interactions, and inform the development of interventions to provide high quality health care for adults who stutter.
对于口吃的成年人来说，沟通困难会影响生活的许多方面。以往的研究尚未探讨口吃如何影响患者在医疗系统中的就医体验。
我们的目的是了解口吃成年人在医疗系统中的就医体验的范围和深度。
这是一项使用年龄分层焦点小组的定性研究。
在一次全国口吃会议上招募了16名口吃成年人。
我们进行了三个焦点小组讨论。参与者还完成了一份关于社会人口学特征、健康状况以及口吃对其生活影响的书面问卷[使用圣路易斯生活视角量表（SL-ILP-S）总效应得分]。我们采用迭代主题分析法，以归纳法在语义层面分析数据。
参与者大多（75%）为男性，居住在美国各地。SL-ILP-S总效应得分的平均值为27.3，表明口吃在参与者生活中引起的担忧最小。尽管如此，我们确定了五个主题，这些主题描述了口吃影响与医疗系统互动的方式。参与者描述了（1）与办公室工作人员和医生交谈时感到不适，这导致（2）因口吃而避免医疗保健互动，以及（3）依靠第三方在医疗系统中周旋。在与医生就诊期间，参与者认为（4）与医生讨论口吃需要信任和融洽关系，并且（5）自信地与医生交谈需要自我接受口吃。
我们确定了口吃影响医疗互动的方式。这些结果凸显了在照顾口吃患者时，医护人员和医生提高认识和接受培训的必要性。未来在不同口吃者样本中的研究可以确定口吃对医疗互动的影响，并为开发干预措施提供信息，以便为口吃成年人提供高质量的医疗保健。
