JCPSLP Vol 20 No 2 July 2018

Table 2. Client benefits of interprofessional collaboration ( % Agreed or Strongly agreed )

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Speech-language pathologists (n = 24)

Audiologists (n = 17)

Improved continuity of care

100%

83%

Streamlined service delivery

96%

73%

100%

80%

Increased client understanding of their hearing diagnosis

Percent of Responses

100%

80%

Increased understanding of clients’ hearing diagnosis by both professions Reduced length of time required with each health professional Improved coordination in establishing client-centred goals More holistic provision of information

Speech-language Pathologists

Audiologists

50%

33%

Always

Most of the time

Neutral

Sometimes

Never

92%

87%

Figure 1. Frequency of communication via written reports by speech-language pathologists (n = 24) and audiologists (n = 15)

100%

87%

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Table 3. Professional benefits of interprofessional collaboration ( % Agreed or Strongly agreed )

Speech-language pathologists (n = 24)

Audiologists (n = 17)

Improved job satisfaction

96%

65%

Improved client satisfaction

100%

82%

Percent of Responses

Effective use of staff resources

88%

47%

Reduction in intervention errors

83%

47%

Speech-language Pathologists

Audiologists

However, only 17% always (and 30% most of the time ) did at the time.Twelve per cent of audiologists believed they should and 13% reported they actually did contact the client’s SLP before conducting an assessment. Seventy- one per cent of audiologists agreed or strongly agreed that they should contact the client’s SLP after conducting an assessment; however only 38% reported that they actually did. Communication mode Written reports were the most utilised form of communication by both professions, however only 7% of audiologists reported they always used written reports compared with 25% of SLPs (Figure 1). SLPs were more likely (29%) to participate in case discusison than audiologists (6.3%) (Figure 2). Information provided Ninety-six percent of SLPs reported always providing information regarding a client’s current skills to the audiologist, while 65% reported always providing therapy information and strategies. In comparision, 56% of

Always

Most of the time

Neutral

Sometimes

Never

Figure 2. Frequency of communication via case discussion by speech-language pathologists (n = 24) and audiologists (n = 16)

audiologists reported they never received information from SLPs regarding speech or language assessments and 69% ‘never’ received information regarding strategies to assist the client. While 81% of audiologists reported always provided assessment results to SLPs, in only 7% of cases this was provided as a written report. Eighty-one percent of SLPs reported the client’s current hearing levels and hearing rehabilitation strategies was the most important information received. Attitudes and knowledge towards the other profession Fifty-seven percent of audiologists were unsure if SLPs had good knowledge of audiology. In comparison, 75% of SLPs agreed or strongly agreed audiologists had good knowledge of speech-language pathology services.

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JCPSLP Volume 20, Number 2 2018

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