Fama Mackenzie E, Schwartzman Sabrina, Metzler Emma, Coyle Suzanne, Hatfield Brooke
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
The Stroke Comeback Center, Vienna, VA, USA.
Int J Speech Lang Pathol. 2025 Apr;27(2):253-264. doi: 10.1080/17549507.2024.2364807. Epub 2024 Aug 9.
Adults with acquired communication disorders are particularly vulnerable to potential negative effects from the changes that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this longitudinal study, we asked: How did the self-perceived impacts of the pandemic on adults with acquired communication disorders change over time?
We developed an online survey to investigate changes in day-to-day behaviours, psychosocial elements, and communication abilities among members of a community-based stroke recovery centre in the USA. Participants included adults with aphasia or other cognitive-communication disorder from stroke or brain injury. We compared survey responses from summer 2020 ( = 50) and summer 2021 ( = 24) using a concurrent mixed methods design.
The impacts of the pandemic changed over time. By 2021, participants reported a more "normal" amount of time spent on in-person socialising and healthcare, improved quality of life and connectedness to others, and an improvement in overall communication ability. Across both years, participants shared comments regarding changes in routine, increased use of technology, and the positive benefit of therapy groups.
Self-perceived psychosocial elements and communication abilities among stroke and other brain injury survivors changed over the course of the pandemic. Clinicians and researchers should continue providing this population with support and opportunities for engagement.
患有后天性沟通障碍的成年人特别容易受到新冠疫情期间出现的变化所带来的潜在负面影响。在这项纵向研究中，我们提出了以下问题：疫情对患有后天性沟通障碍的成年人的自我认知影响是如何随时间变化的？
我们开展了一项在线调查，以调查美国一个社区中风康复中心成员的日常行为、心理社会因素和沟通能力的变化。参与者包括患有失语症或因中风或脑损伤导致的其他认知沟通障碍的成年人。我们采用同步混合方法设计，比较了2020年夏季（n = 50）和2021年夏季（n = 24）的调查回复。
疫情的影响随时间而变化。到2021年，参与者报告称，花在面对面社交和医疗保健上的时间更“正常”，生活质量和与他人的联系有所改善，整体沟通能力也有所提高。在这两年中，参与者分享了关于日常变化、技术使用增加以及治疗小组的积极益处的评论。
中风和其他脑损伤幸存者的自我认知心理社会因素和沟通能力在疫情期间发生了变化。临床医生和研究人员应继续为这一人群提供支持和参与机会。
