Aphasia researchers in the communication disorders programs at Idaho State University and University of Montana have published a qualitative study of research gaps in the available literature investigating benefits to communicatively challenged participants in Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs (ICAP). The goals of this investigation are to characterize such gaps from the perspective of international implementers these programs, in order broadly to help improve implementation of these programs, to document their rehabilitative effectiveness, and to bolster reimbursement justifications for participation costs.
To gather input, the investigators used ZOOM to conduct English-language interviews with ICAP leaders from seven interested programs in five countries across North America and Europe – the US, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Norway. Their median count of treated cohorts per year was 3, their median cohort size was 5 participants, and the median number of hours per week spent in therapeutic activities was 20. The semi-structured interviews, which lasted from 25 to 58 minutes apiece, were first recorded, then transcribed, and finally subjected to a four-stage open coding content analysis process for extraction of meaning by the first three authors on this article. In the first stage, the authors worked in bottom-up fashion to establish the basic coding system for characterizing responses. The second stage focused on consistent and comprehensive application of the code. In stage three – ‘categorization’ – meaningful excerpts or units were consolidated, and in the final fourth stage, the categorized data were interpreted from a neutral perspective, in alignment with the qualitative content analysis approach.
Two overarching themes emerged from the authors’ content analysis. The 1st theme concerns access to such programs, and the 2nd theme focuses on their functioning. Primary concerns around access include limited program enrollments, scalability issues, high costs, and residency-related issues. Secondary concerns included paucity of evidence regarding which clinical profile mixes constitute desirable admission cohorts; and how telehealth options might feasibly be implemented to address scalability challenges. The structures and processes of ICAP functioning was the second major theme, with 5 subthemes: 1) specifying programs’ constituent components; 2) establishing intensity & activity duration guidelines; 3) standardizing outcome reporting; 4) formalizing delivery models; and 5) ensuring sustainability. The authors have fulfilled a valuable purpose in identifying issues for future ICAP research.
For further reading: V. L. Scharp, C. A. Off, M. Wilson et al., 2024,
Research gaps in Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs: a qualitative study. Aphasiology, published online 13 Feb 2024, pp. 1-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2024.2315843