Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33314954›Full record

ArticleThe South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings2020

A retrospective review of speech-language therapy services provided to adult inpatients at a central-level hospital in Gauteng, South Africa.

Jennifer Stone, Azra Hoosen, Hayley Hochfelden, Innocent Maposa, Shajila Singh

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. National Health Insurance - knowledge, attitude and perceptions of speech-language therapists.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Weighing up the pros and cons of dysphagia triage in South Africa.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2023
    Article
  4. Communication experiences of healthcare students whilst managing adults with communication disorders.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2022
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Jennifer StoneDepartment of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg. jenstone.slt@gmail.com.
Azra Hoosen
Hayley Hochfelden
Innocent Maposa
Shajila Singh
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital · ZAUniversity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of the Witwatersrand · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe quadruple burden of disease (BoD) and multimorbidity reflected in South Africa's public health sector challenges speech-language therapists (SLTs) to optimise patient management in this context. For planning and delivery of appropriate services, it is important to understand the profile of speech-language therapy (SLT) patients and the public healthcare services provided by SLTs.

objectivesThis study aimed to describe the prevalence of inpatient adult speech, language and swallowing disorders associated with various medical conditions and South Africa's BoD, in addition to the target areas and duration of SLT interventions provided at a central public hospital.

methodA retrospective review was conducted on records of 2549 adult inpatients who received SLT services between January 2014 and December 2015 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Data, including demographics, medical and SLT diagnoses, and treatment recommendations, were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

resultsNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) were most prevalent (77.48%), with multimorbidity of BoD categories in 29.27% of patients. Cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) comprised 52.45% patients, with CeVD, traumatic brain injury, other neurological conditions, cancer and burns comprising 88.74% patients. More than a third of the patients with CeVD were 56 years (n = 486; 36.35%). Dysphagia (48.96%), aphasia (30.95%) and dysarthria (23.62%) were the most common, with 44.68% of patients having multiple SLT diagnoses. The number of SLT sessions significantly correlated with SLT comorbidity (rs = 0.4200; p = 0.0000), but not BoD comorbidity (rs = 0.0049; p = 0.8058).

conclusionSpeech-language therapy patients reflected a heavy NCD burden and multimorbidity. Provision of SLT services should take into consideration a profile of increased complexity of medical conditions and SLT diagnoses.

Indexed as

AdultAphasiaDeglutition DisordersFemaleHospitalsHumansInpatientsLanguage DisordersLanguage TherapyMaleMultimorbidityNoncommunicable DiseasesPrevalenceRetrospective StudiesSouth AfricaSpeech Therapyaphasiaburden of diseasedysarthriadysphagiainterventionmultimorbiditypublic healthcare.speech-language therapy

Identifiers

PMID33314954
PMCPMC7736679
OpenAlexW3106817041

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.