Assessing Cognitive Communication Disorders for Return to Work Following Acquired Brain Injury: A Mixed Methods Investigation of Clinical Experiences and Perspectives.
Background: Cognitive communication changes are common after acquired brain injury (ABI) and can impact a person's ability to return to and sustain work. Aims: To understand the practices and experiences of speech‐language pathologists (SLPs) involved in assessing cognitive communication skills for...
| Publicado en: | International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) Vol. 61; no. 4; pp. 1 - 17 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Jul/Aug2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=195594436&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 195594436 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 14606984 NRNM jtl: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) issn: 14606984 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul/Aug2026 vid: 61 iid: 4 pid: 52269 pub: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. artinfo: ui: 195594436 195594436 195594436 10.1111/1460-6984.70265 195594436 ppf: 1 ppct: 16 formats: tig: atl: Assessing Cognitive Communication Disorders for Return to Work Following Acquired Brain Injury: A Mixed Methods Investigation of Clinical Experiences and Perspectives. aug: au: Cameron, Kate Cornwell, Petrea Watter, Kerrin McLennan, Vanette Wegener, Nina Hewetson, Ronelle affil: Acquired Brain Injury Transitional Rehabilitation Service, Division of Rehabilitation, Metro South Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane Queensland,, Australia sug: subj: Brain Injuries Complications Professional Practice Speech-Language Pathologist Attitudes Speech-Language Pathologists Psychosocial Factors Job Re-Entry Communication Skills Evaluation Cognition Evaluation Communicative Disorders Diagnosis Cognition Disorders Diagnosis Human Multimethod Studies Surveys Focus Groups Content Analysis Benchmarking Snowball Sample Descriptive Statistics Male Female Data Analysis Software Discourse Analysis Funding Source Language Tests Questionnaires Clinical Assessment Tools Neuropsychological Tests Checklists Task Performance and Analysis Confidence Evaluation Adult Middle Age Time Financial Support Work Environment Functional Assessment Executive Function Accountability Collaboration Professional Role Workflow Employer-Employee Relations Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Male Female ab: Background: Cognitive communication changes are common after acquired brain injury (ABI) and can impact a person's ability to return to and sustain work. Aims: To understand the practices and experiences of speech‐language pathologists (SLPs) involved in assessing cognitive communication skills for return to work (RTW) after ABI. Methods & Procedures: An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used, involving sequential data collection points of a benchmarking survey followed by expert opinion focus groups. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: Thirty‐four SLPs completed an online survey. Six participants took part in focus groups. Findings suggest SLPs are currently involved in assessing the communication skills of individuals aiming to RTW after an ABI, and that they use a variety of approaches, including standardised and informal or dynamic assessments. They may benefit from training resources, and support to integrate into interprofessional teams. Conclusion & implications: This study emphasises the need to prioritise assessing cognitive communication skills for individuals aiming to RTW post injury. While SLPs provide assessment for this population, improving their integration in interprofessional teams, training and detailed clinical resources will be valuable. Practitioner Points: SLPs have specialised expertise that can be applied to assessing cognitive communication skills for return to work (RTW).Practice guidelines that are specific to cognitive‐communication assessment for RTW are needed to support decision‐making and ensure greater practice consistency and confidence.Interdisciplinary collaboration and involvement of SLPs in the RTW process can ensure communication skills are appropriately assessed. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subjectIt is known that cognitive and social communication changes following ABI can impact a person's ability to return to and maintain work. Existing guidelines, such as the International Cognitive Rehabilitation Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation following Traumatic Brain Injury, models such as the Model of Cognitive Communication Competence and professional associations such as Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) and the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) support the role of SLPs in assessing cognitive communication disorders that impact return to work (RTW) after ABI. These however, provide general advice rather than specific clinical practice information or training resources. There are a variety of cognitive communication assessments but there is a limited understanding of how these are applied in practice. What this paper adds to the existing knowledgeThis study identifies current RTW cognitive communication assessment practice challenges and opportunities for improvement. What are the potential or actual implications of this work? Findings provide additional support for the role of SLPs in RTW teams. It provides an overview of what is currently occurring in clinical practice and offers guidance on areas for development including functional assessment approaches and interprofessional collaboration. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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