Wylie Karen, McAllister Lindy, Davidson Bronwyn, Marshall Julie
ENT Department, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Australia.
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia.
Afr J Disabil. 2016 Sep 9;5(1):227. doi: 10.4102/ajod.v5i1.227. eCollection 2016.
There is an urgent global need to strengthen rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, rehabilitation services for people with communication disabilities continue to be underdeveloped. A first step in strengthening services for people with a communication disabilities is to understand the composition and conditions of the current workforce.
This research describes a sample of the speech and language therapists (SLTs) working in SSA (excluding South Africa). This study explores the characteristics of this workforce, including their demographics, education, experience and geographical stability.
A mixed-methods survey was used to collect data from SLTs within Anglophone countries of SSA. Completed surveys were received from 33 respondents working in 44 jobs across nine countries. Analysis included descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics. This study reports on a subset of descriptive and quantitative data from the wider survey.
A background profile of SLTs across the region is presented. Results indicated that the workforce of SLTs comprised a mix of local and international SLTs, with university-level education. Local SLTs were educated both within and outside of Africa, with more recent graduates trained in Africa. These data reflected the local emergence of speech and language therapy training in SSA.
This sample comprised a mix of African and international SLTs, with indications of growing localisation of the workforce. Workforce localisation offers potential advantages of linguistic diversity and stability. Challenges including workforce support and developing culturally and contextually relevant SLT practices are discussed.
全球迫切需要加强为残疾人提供的康复服务。在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，针对有沟通障碍者的康复服务仍然不发达。加强为有沟通障碍者提供服务的第一步是了解当前从业人员的构成和状况。
本研究描述了在撒哈拉以南非洲地区（不包括南非）工作的言语和语言治疗师（SLT）样本。本研究探讨了这一从业人员群体的特征，包括他们的人口统计学特征、教育背景、工作经验和地域稳定性。
采用混合方法调查，从撒哈拉以南非洲地区英语国家的言语和语言治疗师那里收集数据。共收到来自9个国家44个岗位的33名受访者填写的调查问卷。分析包括描述性和非参数推断统计。本研究报告了更广泛调查中的一部分描述性和定量数据。
呈现了该地区言语和语言治疗师的背景概况。结果表明，言语和语言治疗师群体由当地和国际治疗师组成，均具有大学学历。当地治疗师有的在非洲接受教育，有的在非洲以外接受教育，近期毕业生多在非洲接受培训。这些数据反映了撒哈拉以南非洲地区言语和语言治疗培训的本土化趋势。
该样本包括非洲和国际言语和语言治疗师，显示出从业人员本土化程度不断提高。从业人员本土化具有语言多样性和稳定性等潜在优势。同时讨论了包括从业人员支持以及发展与文化和背景相关的言语和语言治疗实践等挑战。
