Knowledge and practice concerning swallowing disorders in hemiplegic patients among nurses of Bobo-Dioulasso urban primary health care centers in Burkina Faso

Perceived barriers to compliance with speech-language therapist dysphagia recommendations of South African nurses

BACKGROUND

Literature has shown that there is limited compliance amongst nurses with the dysphagia recommendations made by speech-language therapists (SLTs). Poor compliance could have a significant impact on the health outcomes of patients with dysphagia.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the specific barriers to compliance with dysphagia recommendations experienced by South African nurses, with the goal of identifying viable strategies to overcome these barriers.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study made use of a self-administered questionnaire to obtain quantitative data on nurses' perceptions of barriers to the implementation of SLT dysphagia recommendations. Eighty-one nurses were recruited from two tertiary hospitals in two South African provinces. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the reported barriers to compliance.

RESULTS

Three main barriers to compliance were identified, namely a lack of knowledge regarding dysphagia, patient-related barriers and workplace concerns. Knowledge barriers included poor familiarity with the role of the SLT in dysphagia management, lack of knowledge regarding SLT terminology, disagreement with dysphagia recommendations and insufficient dysphagia training. Workplace concerns included staff shortages, heavy workloads and time constraints. Poor patient cooperation was emphasised as a patient-related barrier.

CONCLUSION

For dysphagia recommendations to be followed by nurses, SLTs need to be aware of the barriers experienced by nurses within the relevant facility. Speech-language therapists need to consider the provision of appropriate in-service dysphagia training and include nurses in the decision-making process when recommendations are made. Speech-language therapists need to consider their role in both clear communication with the nurses and the development of supporting material, such as glossaries and visual aids.

Registered Nurse's Competency To Screen Dysphagia Among Stroke Patients: Literature Review

Background

An increased number of elderly people in the world may lead to an increase in the incidence of stroke, which creates a burden on the country's healthcare system. Dysphagia is the most common post stroke. Screening of dysphagia in stroke patients is serious to prevent complication linked to aspiration and inadequate hydration/nutrition.

Objective

This literature review aimed to discuss registered nurses' competency to screen dysphagia among stroke patients.

Methods

The keywords used were nurse's competency; dysphagia; dysphagia screening; and stroke. These keywords were entered into multiple electronic databases including CINAHL, Medline, Science Direct, Pro Quest, Pub Med, and Wiley Online Library. Aliterature search was conducted for the period2005 to 2016.Results:Seventeen studies were identified by a systematic search ofthe literature.Two parts created the body of this literature review. The first part covers the literature on the training nurses in screening dysphagia among stroke patients and benefits of screening. The second part covers nurse's competency in terms of knowledge and skills of screening dysphagia among stroke patients.

Conclusion

Because the nurses have more contact with the patient, they are most likely to observe dysphagia. It is important that formal dysphagia screening protocols are routine nursing care that requires special training to practice. Trained nurses should assess their competency in terms of knowledge and skills via well-developed tool.