Practice and future prospects for speech-language therapy in acute care hospitals

Abstract

Speech-language therapy （speech therapy） covers a wide range of areas in acute care rehabilitation, including dysphagia, dysarthria, and communication disorders due to aphasia and other higher brain dysfunctions. The rehabilitation unit at Fujigaoka Hospital has employed speech-language-hearing therapists （speech therapists） since 2019, and the number of prescriptions has been increasing annually. To clarify the current status of speech therapy at Fujigaoka Hospital, a study on speech therapy performance was conducted in 2022. The results showed that 575 patients requested for a speech therapist in 1 year and that the target primary diseases were diverse. Dysphagia was the most common disorder targeted at the time of the initial intervention, indicating the increasing need to provide rehabilitation for acute dysphagia. About 67％ of patients received initial intervention speech therapists within 1 week of onset of illness, indicating that speech therapy is needed at an early stage. Swallowing and communication difficulties are common in patients with acute dysphagia, resulting in the high demand for speech therapy. However, only a few speech therapists are employed in acute care hospitals. To maintain and improve the quality of care provided to patients, collaboration with other health professionals should be strengthened, and methods to achieve high effectiveness with less-frequent intervention should be identified. Furthermore, to implement acute speech therapy more actively in hospitals affiliated to Showa University, educating speech therapists who can take charge of rehabilitation is urgently required in acute care settings. Furthermore, to demonstrate the necessity of acute speech therapy, further data should be accumulated to clarify the effectiveness of acute speech therapy in the acute stage.