DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING PROTOCOL AND APPLICATION FOR SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS ON TELETHERAPY: A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH TO SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPY
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 尚未招募
- 发起方
- 入组人数
- 10
- 主要终点
- Change in Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) T-score
研究概览
简要总结
The goal of this mixed-methods study is to develop and evaluate a teletherapy training protocol and a dedicated teletherapy application for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in Pakistan. It will also assess the effectiveness, usability, and acceptability of these tools among SLPs and patients receiving speech-language therapy services. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Can a standardized teletherapy training protocol be developed and validated for Speech-Language Pathologists? Can a teletherapy application improve the delivery and effectiveness of speech-language therapy services? What are the perceptions, experiences, and satisfaction levels of SLPs and patients regarding teletherapy? Does the use of the developed protocol and application improve the quality and accessibility of speech-language therapy services?
Researchers will assess the effectiveness of the developed protocol and application by comparing outcomes before and after implementation among Speech-Language Pathologists and patients receiving teletherapy services.
Participants will:
Complete questionnaires regarding teletherapy practices, satisfaction, effectiveness, and challenges.
Participate in structured interviews to share experiences and perceptions of teletherapy.
Contribute to the development and validation of a teletherapy training protocol through expert consultation.
Use the developed teletherapy application for speech and language intervention. Participate in evaluations to assess the effectiveness, usability, and acceptability of the protocol and application.
The expected outcome of the study is the development of a validated teletherapy protocol and a comprehensive teletherapy application that can standardize telepractice and improve the accessibility and quality of speech-language pathology services in Pakistan.
详细描述
Teletherapy has emerged as an important mode of service delivery in speech-language pathology, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Although teletherapy has been increasingly adopted worldwide, many Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) continue to face challenges related to the absence of standardized training, limited technological resources, and inconsistent clinical practices. In Pakistan, teletherapy services are being utilized by practitioners; however, there is currently no validated training protocol or comprehensive teletherapy application specifically designed to support speech-language pathology services.
This study aims to develop a standardized teletherapy training protocol and a dedicated teletherapy application for Speech-Language Pathologists. The study will employ a mixed-methods approach involving quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with practicing SLPs to identify current teletherapy practices, challenges, training needs, and recommendations. Findings from these phases will be used to develop a protocol through expert consensus using the Delphi technique.
The proposed protocol will address essential operational and ethical aspects of teletherapy, including clinician competencies, client eligibility, technology requirements, service delivery procedures, documentation practices, privacy and confidentiality, informed consent, and quality assurance measures. Following protocol development, a teletherapy application will be designed to facilitate the delivery of speech and language intervention services for a range of communication disorders.
The psychometric properties of the developed protocol, including validity and reliability, will be evaluated. Subsequently, the protocol and application will be implemented in clinical practice to assess their effectiveness, usability, and acceptability among both clinicians and service recipients. Outcome measures will focus on user satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, feasibility, and the overall quality of teletherapy service delivery.
The anticipated outcome of this research is the establishment of an evidence-based framework for teletherapy in speech-language pathology, supported by a practical digital application. The findings are expected to contribute to the standardization of teletherapy practices, enhance access to speech-language services, and support the integration of telepractice into routine clinical care in Pakistan and similar healthcare settings.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
入排标准
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •• The inclusion criteria will include Speech Language Pathologists from Pakistan that are actively involved in the profession.
- •Speech language pathologists with minimum qualification of undergraduate degree in Speech language pathology and licensed SLP's working with patients through teletherapy mode will be included in the study.
- •SLP's dealing with speech, language and communication problems will be included in the study.
- •The patients or their guardians currently receiving speech language pathology services.
- •Any age range of patients or guardians will be included in the study.
排除标准
- •• The exclusion criteria will not involve seminars or academic activities; it will not consider the therapeutic interventions used by other counselling or session-based therapists i.e., psychologists.
- •Patients with psychological, visual impairment, physical limitations, and medical conditions such as cancer and other long-term diseases will be excluded from the study.
- •The patients with swallowing disorder are excluded in the study.
研究组 & 干预措施
App-supported teletherapy
Speech and language therapy delivered through weekly live video sessions with a speech-language pathologist trained in the study teletherapy protocol, supported by the TeleSpeech application for home practice. One 30-45 minute session per week for 12 weeks plus a home programme assigned in the application and practised on five days per week. Delivered in the participant's home or a quiet room at the site.
干预措施: App-supported teletherapy (Behavioral)
Usual in-person therapy
Standard face-to-face speech and language therapy as currently delivered at the site by a speech-language pathologist in usual practice. One 30-45 minute session per week for 12 weeks plus a paper home programme practised on five days per week. Delivered in the clinic.
干预措施: Usual in-person speech and language therapy (Behavioral)
结局指标
主要结局
Change in Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) T-score
时间窗: Baseline and 12 weeks after randomisation (change from baseline to 12 weeks)
Goal Attainment Scaling is a criterion-referenced method in which three to five individually agreed therapy goals are set with the participant and family before randomisation and scaled from -2 (much less than expected) to +2 (much more than expected), with 0 as the expected level of attainment. Goals are not revised after randomisation. Attainment is rated at 12 weeks by an outcome assessor masked to allocation and converted to a standardised T-score. Higher scores indicate greater attainment of individually agreed communication goals. The outcome reported is the change in T-score from baseline to 12 weeks, analysed by analysis of covariance with the baseline value, site and diagnostic group as covariates. Non-inferiority of app-supported teletherapy will be concluded if the lower bound of the two-sided 95% confidence interval for the between-arm difference lies above the pre-specified margin..
次要结局
- Adherence to the prescribed home practice programme(Weekly over the 12-week intervention period)
- Proportion of scheduled therapy sessions attended(Over the 12-week intervention period)
- Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) score(12 weeks after randomisation)
- System Usability Scale (SUS) score(12 weeks after randomisation)