Authors (including presenting author) :
YH Ngan, KP Wong, SF Ip, WS Lai, SW Chan
Affiliation :
Department of Speech Therapy, Ruttonjee and Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals
Introduction :
During the activation of the Emergency response for COVID-19 pandemic, hospital visitation is not allowed and thus, face-to-face caregiver training cannot be done. When patient has dysphagia (swallowing disorder), e.g. newly diagnosed dysphagia after stroke, patient’s caregiver does not understand patient’s swallowing problem and misses the necessary measures to prevent aspiration (e.g. needing modified diet / thickened liquid). Problems encountered at home upon discharge include:
1) patient has frequent choking
2) patient’s caregivers feel helpless and stressful when taking care of patient’s swallowing problem.
Tele-speech therapy service program was initiated in March 2020 to support safe discharge of dysphagic in-patient back to home.
Objectives :
1) to provide telephone education to patient’s caregivers before patient’s discharge to help them well prepare for patient’s discharge, and
2) to provide training videos on thickener use (with QR code) and diet information sheet tailored for patient’s caregivers to facilitate their skills in preparing appropriate liquid thickness and diet texture to enhance patient’s swallowing safety at home
Methodology :
1) Pre-discharge telephone calls to patient’s caregivers. 2) Provision of swallowing instruction, diet and liquid information sheet specific to patient’s swallowing needs. 3) Satisfaction survey.
Result & Outcome :
Training videos on thickener use were made in March 2020 and shared amongst all the Speech Therapy Service Units in the HKEC.
257 pre-discharge telephone calls to caregivers of in-patients who would be discharged to home were made from March-December 2020. Satisfaction survey by phone was conducted in May 2020 to evaluate the pre-discharge tele-speech therapy service. 24 caregivers received the survey invitation. 96% (23/24) caregivers reported the tele-speech therapy service was helpful for their preparation of patient’s discharge. 4% (1/24) patient readmitted hospital the next day after the discharge date because of medical problem not related to swallowing / feeding. Caregivers expressed that the training videos are clear and helpful.
Conclusion
Tele-speech therapy service program was effective in helping caregivers in managing patient’s swallowing disorder at home after discharge from hospital.
