Creating communicatively accessible healthcare environments : perceptions of speech-language pathologists

There is a growing body of research that indicates that a person with a communication disability communicates and participates more effectively given a communicatively accessible environment. If this research is to be translated into practice then one needs to determine who will take on the role of creating communicatively accessible environments. This research adopted a qualitative methodology to explore the perceptions of speech-language pathologists about working to create communicatively accessible healthcare settings. Fifteen speech-language pathologists in three focus groups participated in this research. The focus group discussions were transcribed and analysed thematically. Thematic analysis indicated that speech-language pathologists believe there are four main benefits in creating communicatively accessible healthcare environments. These are Benefits for all people: Access for all, Benefits for healthcare administrators, Benefits for those wanting to improve communication with patients, and Benefits to the capacity to provide communicatively accessible environments. However, they believe these benefits can only be achieved if; The communication resources are available, Skilled, knowledgeable and supportive healthcare providers are available; and Systems are in place to support a whole-of-hospital approach. This research supports the development of a new role to improve the communicative accessibility of healthcare settings.