Interdisciplinary management of people with communication and/or swallowing disorders: confidence, knowledge and experience of undergraduate allied health students

Purpose. Interprofessional collaboration is an important aspect of health practice. Individuals with communication and/or swallowing impairments are often managed by interdisciplinary teams including speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and other healthcare professionals. Literature reports that other allied health professionals may not be confident working with this caseload and little evidence exists that explores undergraduate allied health students’ confidence, knowledge, and experience working with this caseload, and as part of an interdisciplinary team. Such knowledge is essential in order to inform curriculum and to improve overall professional practice and patient outcomes. This research aimed to investigate: (1) the knowledge and confidence of non-SLP undergraduate allied health students who have worked with individuals with communication and swallowing disorders; and (2) how often these students have worked with a SLP on placement. Method. 131 undergraduate allied health students from physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work, and nutrition and dietetics completed a survey to evaluate their confidence, knowledge, and experience when working with this caseload, and as part of an interprofessional team with SLPs. Results. Participants had equal levels of confidence across disciplines and were more confident working with people with communication impairments compared to swallowing impairments. Student participants from all professions stated they would like more education regarding working with this caseload.

Discussion. Findings revealed a want for further education regarding communication and swallowing impairments. There was an overall lack of experience working with SLPs, indicating a potential lack of interprofessional education in allied health students’ tertiary education.