Purpose: Speech and language pathologists provide services in the fields of language, speech, communication, voice, and swallowing. Individuals in need of speech-language pathology usually access this service by referral. For this reason, it is important for different professional groups to know the speech-language pathology profession and its working areas for the individual to receive the assessment and intervention they need. In this study, the awareness levels of family physicians, midwives and nurses working in family health centers, which is a primary healthcare step, towards the SLP profession was examined.
Method: A questionnaire consisting of 37 questions was used to identify the awareness levels of the participants. This questionnaire was included in the study after obtaining the necessary permissions. A total of 262 participants (235 female and 27 male) from 61 different cities in Turkey participated in the study.
Results: There was no significant difference between the mean scores of family physician, midwife and nurse groups. A significant difference was found in the participants' awareness levels according to the variables including reading informative texts about speech-language pathology (p=0.027<0.05), years of experience in the profession (p=0.047<0.05) and thinking that having information about the profession of speech-language pathology (p=0.003<0.05). However, no significant difference was found according to gender and education. More than 85% of the healthcare professionals working in healthcare center stated that speech and language pathologist’s (SLP) mostly provide interventions to preschool and school-age children, but the majority of the participants stated that SLPs do not provide interventions to the elderly and infants.
Conclusion: Regarding the referral to SLP to be carried out appropriately, individuals should have knowledge about SLP. In the sample group, it was observed that the speech-language pathology profession was known. However, it was observed that their awareness levels of the disorders which the SLPs work as part of their caseload (including the age groups) were low. In relation to the results of the study, it may be suggested to prepare brochures and booklets about the profession of speech-language pathology in family health centers and to make short videos aiming to provide information about the profession. It may also be suggested that SLPs assigned to hospitals should organize informative seminars for physicians and other healthcare professionals. It is thought that repeating future studies with more comprehensive questions and a larger sample group will contribute to the development of the field of speech-language pathology and increase awareness of the profession.
Keywords
family physician, family health center, midwife, nurse, professional awareness, speech and language pathology
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