Research Scholar, Department of Speech and Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Department of Speech and Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2024 Feb 1;25(2):453-460. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.2.453.
India has a significant burden of Head and Neck cancer (HNC) patients. Patients afflicted with HNC often encounter difficulties in speech, voice, and swallowing, either due to the disease itself or the treatment they receive. The rehabilitation of HNC patients is crucial, and Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) have a significant role in it. The current study aimed to understand the practices followed by SLPs in India while rehabilitating HNC patients.
A questionnaire was developed and validated by five Speech-language pathologists, before circulation as an E-survey. The target participants were SLPs working in hospitals across India. The final online version of the questionnaire remained open for eight weeks.
A total of 75 Hospital-based SLPs working in India participated in the survey. The responses depict notable trends and differences in the assessment and management approaches. HNC patients who had undergone surgery were more likely to be referred for rehabilitation than those who received non-surgical treatments. Only 36% of the SLPs reported getting pre-operative referrals for HNC patients. The time point for initial assessment and intervention, as well as the protocols used, varied across different hospitals. About 50% of participants had instrumental swallow evaluation facilities in their hospitals, and the majority of hospitals only used instrumental swallow evaluation for 1-3 assessments per week.
Variability exists in several aspects of SLP practice for HNC patients offered across Hospitals in India. All HNC patients do not get access to speech-language pathology services. Developing standardized protocols towards early evaluation, intervention and enhancing compliance could improve SLP-led rehabilitation of HNC patients in India.
印度有大量的头颈部癌症（HNC）患者。由于疾病本身或接受的治疗，患有 HNC 的患者经常在言语、声音和吞咽方面遇到困难。HNC 患者的康复至关重要，言语病理学家（SLP）在其中发挥着重要作用。本研究旨在了解印度 SLP 在康复 HNC 患者时遵循的实践。
开发了一份问卷，并由五名言语病理学家进行验证，然后作为电子调查进行分发。目标参与者是在印度医院工作的 SLP。问卷的最终在线版本开放了八周。
共有 75 名在印度工作的医院 SLP 参加了这项调查。调查结果描绘了评估和管理方法方面的显著趋势和差异。接受手术治疗的 HNC 患者比接受非手术治疗的患者更有可能被转介进行康复治疗。只有 36%的 SLP 报告说为 HNC 患者提供了术前转介。初始评估和干预的时间点以及使用的方案在不同医院之间有所不同。大约 50%的参与者在他们的医院中有仪器吞咽评估设施，大多数医院每周只使用仪器吞咽评估进行 1-3 次评估。
印度医院提供的 HNC 患者 SLP 实践的几个方面存在差异。并非所有 HNC 患者都能获得言语病理服务。制定早期评估、干预和提高依从性的标准化方案，可以改善印度 SLP 主导的 HNC 患者康复。
