KBB-Forum 2023 , Cilt 22, Sayı 4

CLINICAL AND INSTRUMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF DYSPHAGIA IN SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY STUDENTS: AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE LEVELS

Mümüne Merve PARLAK 1, PhD Cansu YILDIRIM 2, MSc Merve SAPMAZ ATALAR 3, MSc
1Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi, Dil ve Konuşma Terapisi, Ankara, Turkey
2İzmir Bakırçay Üniversitesi, Dil ve Konuşma Terapisi Bölümü, İzmir, Turkey
3Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi, Dil ve Konuşma Terapisi Bölümü, İstanbul, Turkey Purpose: The aim of this study was to question the awareness and knowledge levels of undergraduate students in the department of speech and language therapy regarding clinical and instrumental swallowing assessment and compare the findings between the 3rd and 4th grades and between those with and without internships.

Methods: The researchers created a questionnaire with five sections and a total of 120 questions.The link to the questionnaire transferred to a Google Form was sent to students via social media platforms.

Results: A total of 327 (289 female and 38 male) SLP students from 12 different schools participated in the survey. It was found that 4th graders were statistically significantly higher than 3rd graders, and internship students were statistically significantly higher than non-internship students in terms of thinking that they could perform clinical swallowing tests on their own and being confident in interpreting test results, as well as awareness and knowledge levels of clinical and instrumental swallowing evaluation (p<0.05).Almost half of all participants stated that their clinical courses on instrumental swallowing were insufficient.

Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that the level of education and internship status affected the level of self-confidence, knowledge, and awareness of individuals about swallowing disorders.It was determined that especially instrumental swallowing assessment courses were inadequate.Therefore, it is necessary to increase the content of the swallowing disorders course, especially instrumental swallowing evaluation, and to demonstrate what is taught in the course in practice in the internship. Thus, the awareness, knowledge, and self-confidence of SLPs about swallowing can be increased. Keywords : Speech and Language Therapy, Awareness, Knowledge, Swallowing, Dysphagia, Assesment