ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL TO IDENTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Dementia affects both expressive and receptive language abilities. As a result, communication is a major problem in many long term care facilities, contributing to increased dependence in a variety of self care activiti es. Recent studies suggest that contextual factors play an important role in communication performance and in providing effective care for individuals with communication disorders. Although the SLP scope of practice promotes improved quality of life by red ucing environmental barriers to communication, environmental assessment and intervention are not part of routine clinical practice. Not surprisingly, therefore, no physical environment assessment tools or resources exist specifically to determine environme ntal barriers and facilitators to communication in residential care environments. The goals of this SBIR project are: 1) To develop a new and innovative Communication Toolkit-Environmental Interventions for Dementia that will enable speech-language patholo gists (SLPs) to identify environmental barriers and facilitators and recommend effective environmental interventions to improve communication of individuals with dementia in long-term care settings; 2) To demonstrate the effectiveness of the toolkit; and 3 ) To develop a marketing plan to ensure the success of Phase III. The toolkit will include: 1) a training module with video, 2) an assessment protocol, 3) measurement tools, and 4) user manual. The first 3 months of the Phase I will be spent developing the Communication Toolkit for bedroom/ bathroom spaces and having it reviewed by the Advisory panel. The remaining 3 months will focus on evaluating the Communication Toolkit in several ways. First, a sample of 30 SLPs will complete the Training Module, and k nowledge gain will be assessed through the administration of pre and post tests. Second, a smaller subset of SLPs will be trained to use the Assessment Protocol, and changes in their behavior (i.e., the number of environmental interventions they recommend in their care plans) will be assessed. Phase II will extend the scope of the Communication Toolkit to include other areas of long-term care facilities. Three basic activities are planned for Phase II. Together, the four components of the Communication Tool kit-Environmental Interventions for Dementia will significantly expand the capacity of SLPs to reduce environmental barriers to communication with care recipients.