Evaluating the effectiveness of intervention in long‐term aphasia post‐stroke: the experience from CHANT (Communication Hub for Aphasia in North Tyneside)

Abstract

The quantitative and qualitative (narrative) findings were complementary in demonstrating the effectiveness of the CHANT service delivery model. Moreover, the narratives, through a longitudinal perspective, provided evidence about people's experience of intervention for long-term aphasia. The findings provide foundations for further work into long-term recovery, intervention and adjustment to aphasia post-stroke.

Adjustment processes in chronic aphasia after stroke: Exploring multiple perspectives in the context of a community-based intervention

“…The CHANT intervention included (a) direct tailored support to people with aphasia following stroke and their carers, and (b) indirect support via awareness-raising and the provision of training within the local community. The group measures are reported in depth elsewhere (Mumby & Whitworth, 2012), including a more detailed description of the CHANT intervention. The current paper explores the experience of a purposive sample of participants in the intervention, in the context of their respective measures.…”

“…The current study is an exploration of living with aphasia within the context of a two-year project called the Communication Hub Downloaded by [University of New Mexico] at 22:55 13 October 2014 for Aphasia in North Tyneside (CHANT), funded by a local authority in northeast England as a partnership with the speech and language therapy (SLT) service and the Stroke Association in order to provide support to people living in the community with long-term aphasia following stroke. Mumby and Whitworth (2012) have previously described the effectiveness of the CHANT intervention in helping people to live with long-term aphasia, identifying which aspects of the intervention underpinned this success, and uncovering barriers and facilitators in relation to QOL. The current study extends the investigation by exploring the processes in adjustment to aphasia over time.…”

“…All people with aphasia joining CHANT (59 participants in total), were approached to take part in the broader evaluation of the intervention (Mumby & Whitworth, 2012). No participants recruited to the study were receiving additional impairment-based therapy.…”

“…A total of 28 semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically by a small team using NVivo8 software. Narrative data were interpreted within the broader context of QOL measures and self-assessments of living with aphasia (Mumby & Whitworth, 2012). Outcomes & Results: Changes over time that reflected evidence of psychosocial adjustment from the multiple perspectives of the participants covered five core themes: Intervention type, Effectiveness, Barriers, Facilitators, and QOL.…”

Quality of Life in Aphasia: State of the Art

“…Regarding specific therapy approaches and interventions to improve QoL and HRQL, there is promising evidence for group therapy in terms of psychosocial benefits [31,32] and improved social participation and social connection compared with controls [33]; for impairment-based therapy for word-finding difficulties, when targeted around an individual's interests [34]; for intensive comprehensive aphasia programs [35], as well as for models of community service provision [36,37,38,39]. Yet, further research in these areas with larger sample sizes and appropriate control groups will increase our confidence in these findings.…”