The Experiences of the Families of People With Aphasia About the Barriers and Facilitators of Receiving Speech Therapy Services in Iran

Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that can affect all representations of language (comprehension, expression, reading, and writing). This disorder is a communication disability that has a long-term effect on various aspects of the life of people with aphasia and their families. The most common cause of aphasia is stroke. The prevalence of this disorder is increasing in Iran. The evidence shows that the factors affecting the provision of speech therapy services to people with aphasia are different in various countries. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the barriers and facilitators of receiving speech therapy services from the perspective of the families of these people in Iran.

The study was conducted qualitatively with a content analysis approach. In this study, individual, semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 12 families of people with aphasia. Interviews were conducted by voice calls through WhatsApp or phone calls. Data analysis was done by Burnard’s approach. The duration of interviews with families was 25 minutes on average.

Barriers to receiving speech therapy services from the perspective of families of people with aphasia were divided into five categories and twelve subcategories, and facilitators of receiving services were divided into five categories and thirteen subcategories. There was an overlap between the identified barriers and facilitators, so the titles of the categories were the same and included: factors affecting clients’ attendance in speech therapy sessions, factors related to the patient, factors related to the place of treatment, factors related to the family, and factors related to speech therapist. All the participants pointed out a barrier and a facilitator related to the category of factors affecting clients’ attendance in speech therapy sessions. Also, all of them found a barrier related to the patient and a facilitator related to the family to be effective in receiving speech therapy services.

By examining the factors extracted from the interviewees, it is possible to make the necessary plans to reduce the barriers and strengthen facilitators with the help of people who have responsibilities in this field. Most of the participants considered the high severity of the impairment a barrier to receiving treatment. All of them agreed that the existence of a source to inform about speech therapy services has facilitated receiving these services. By considering the barriers and facilitators, people with aphasia and their families can receive more appropriate treatment according to their conditions and their quality of life will increase.