Semin Speech Lang 2020; 41(05): 414-432
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1716887
Review Article

Quantifying Experiences with Telepractice for Aphasia Therapy: A Text Mining Analysis of Client Response Data

Molly Jacobs
1   Department of Health Services and Information Management, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
,
Patrick Briley
2   Communication Equity and Outcomes Laboratory, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
3   Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
,
Charles Ellis
2   Communication Equity and Outcomes Laboratory, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
3   Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
› Author Affiliations

Funding This study is funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Grant no. 1 R03 HS025043–01A1 awarded to the third author.
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Abstract

Measures of satisfaction following treatment for aphasia have been limited. The challenge associated with reduced verbal output among many persons with aphasia (PWA) has reportedly been a key reason measures of treatment satisfaction have been limited. A novel approach to measure treatment satisfaction is the use of content analysis (CA), which uses the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts to explore outcomes such as treatment satisfaction particularly among individuals who generate limited output. CA utilizes responses and response patterns to assign meaning to client responses. The aim of this study was to use CA to measure posttreatment satisfaction with a telepractice approach for aphasia treatment. Seventeen PWA received 12 treatment sessions over a 6-week period. At the conclusion of the treatment, CA was utilized to explore patient satisfaction with this treatment approach. The participants reported an overall positive sentiment for the telepractice approach. Two primary topics emerged which were healthcare provider and healthcare delivery, where text analysis revealed discussion of these topics to be centered around being “helpful” and “being effective.” This study demonstrated that CA can be an effective approach for determining satisfaction with aphasia treatment particularly among PWA with limited verbal abilities.



Publication History

Article published online:
30 September 2020

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