Lanyon Lucette, Worrall Linda, Rose Miranda
School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2018 May;53(3):526-541. doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12366. Epub 2018 Jan 19.
Participation in a group environment is an inherently complex undertaking for people with aphasia. It involves engaging in multi-person interactions with other people who may have a range of communication strengths and strategies at their disposal. The potential challenges of community aphasia-group participation and practice has had limited attention in the research literature. Evidence from group users have primarily been drawn from the perspective of long-term members or those participating in highly specific and time-bound groups. There is a need to explore the experiences of a broader sample, including people who have left groups, to improve our understanding of structures, processes as well as leadership behaviours that may facilitate positive group participation experiences.
To examine the potential factors operating within the group environment that contribute to positive and negative participation experiences.
METHODS & PROCEDURES: Twenty-two people with aphasia participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of community aphasia groups. People who maintained long-term membership as well as those who had left groups were sampled. An interpretative phenomenological framework was employed to examine the data collected.
OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Seven factors emerged as central to participation experiences and contributed to the ability of people with aphasia to integrate and engage in the group space. These factors included: (1) balanced interactional patterns; (2) an open and non-hierarchical group environment; (3) communication awareness and education amongst members; (4) meaningful activity; (5) ritual and structure; (6) composition and group size; and (7) group leadership.
CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: People with aphasia perceive community aphasia-group participation to be beneficial to their ability to live well with aphasia. However, a range of challenges to successful participation are also evident. Inputs such as peer-to-peer communication strategies, shared roles and responsibilities, and consultation with regard to group objectives and processes provide group members with the opportunity to become active contributors, demonstrate competence and have influence over the group. When inputs are poorly implemented or absent, people with aphasia are at risk of feeling disabled and marginalized by the group experience.
对于失语症患者而言，参与群体活动本质上是一项复杂的任务。这涉及与其他可能拥有多种沟通能力和策略的人进行多人互动。社区失语症群体参与和实践的潜在挑战在研究文献中受到的关注有限。群体使用者的证据主要来自长期成员或参与高度特定且有时间限制的群体的人的视角。有必要探索更广泛样本的经历，包括已离开群体的人，以增进我们对可能促进积极群体参与体验的结构、过程以及领导行为的理解。
研究群体环境中导致积极和消极参与体验的潜在因素。
22名失语症患者参与了关于他们在社区失语症群体经历的半结构化访谈。样本包括长期成员以及已离开群体的人。采用解释性现象学框架来分析所收集的数据。
七个因素成为参与体验的核心，并有助于失语症患者融入和参与群体空间。这些因素包括：（1）平衡的互动模式；（2）开放且无等级制度的群体环境；（3）成员之间的沟通意识和教育；（4）有意义的活动；（5）仪式和结构；（6）组成和群体规模；（7）群体领导。
失语症患者认为参与社区失语症群体对他们失语后更好地生活的能力有益。然而，成功参与也存在一系列明显挑战。诸如同伴间沟通策略、共享角色和责任以及就群体目标和过程进行协商等投入，为群体成员提供了成为积极贡献者、展示能力并对群体产生影响的机会。当这些投入实施不当或缺失时，失语症患者有被群体体验致残和边缘化的风险。
