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How Do Health Care Providers Interact With Patients With Communication Disabilities? Disparities, Implications, and Future Directions (PD102646)

Presenter(s): Megan A Morris, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP; Carolyn R Baylor, PhD, CCC-SLP; Ryan D. Pollard, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-F
Course Description

Health care providers’ attitudes toward and skills communicating with people with communication disabilities may affect patients’ health care outcomes. This session presents research that suggests providers are aware of these inequities but lack skills and confidence to address them. The session explores how training and other initiatives are needed to help providers better care for patients with communication disabilities.

This course is a recorded session from the 2021 ASHA Convention Virtual Library (session 2108V). The session was part of the Health and Health Care Equity in Communication Disorders Research Symposium.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

  • Describe different response types health practitioners can use when interacting with patients with communication disabilities
  • Describe how negative attitudes toward people with communication disabilities can impact the care they receive from providers and their ultimate health care outcomes
  • Describe the intersection of medical skills and attitudes toward patients with communication disabilities, including the limitations of skills-based medical school curricula that neglects unconscious bias toward and/or limited personal experiences with people with communication disabilities

DEI Professional Development Requirement

This course counts toward the ASHA certification maintenance professional development requirement for DEI (which encompasses cultural competency; cultural humility; culturally responsive practice; and diversity, equity, and inclusion). See more courses that count toward this requirement or read more about professional development requirements for certification maintenance.

Presenter Information

Megan Morris, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP (Presenting Author), is an Associate Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Morris is a health services researcher who aims to address and promote equitable and accessible health care for patients with diverse types of communication disabilities. She focuses on provider and health care organization-level factors that negatively impact the quality of care delivered to patients with disabilities.

Financial Disclosures:

  • Stipend and registration fee waived for 2021 ASHA Convention for role as coordinator for the 2021 ASHA Symposium

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

  • No nonfinancial relationships relevant to the content of the session

Carolyn Baylor, PhD, CCC-SLP (Presenting Author), is an Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington. Her research program includes qualitative and quantitative work related to communicative participation and treatment outcomes for adults with acquired communication disorders. A related line of research focuses on improving health care access for adults with communication disorders by training health care providers to communicate effectively with patients with communication disorders.

Financial Disclosures:

  • Grant funding from NIDCD

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

  • No nonfinancial relationships relevant to the content of the session

Ryan Pollard, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-F (Presenting Author), is an Assistant Clinical Professor and speech-language pathologist at the University of Colorado, specializing in fluency disorders. He supervises graduate clinicians treating clients with communication disabilities and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on communication disorders, counseling, and disability in American society. He also is a person who stutters and an advocate for people with disabilities.

Financial Disclosures:

  • Grant funding from an R21 grant
  • Stipend from ASHA for this presentation and manuscript

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

  • No nonfinancial relationships relevant to the content of the session

Assessment Type

Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

To earn continuing education credit, you must complete the learning assessment by December 9, 2027.

Program History and CE Information

Content origination date: November 2021
End date: December 9, 2027

This course is offered for 0.1 ASHA CEUs (Advanced level, Professional area).

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CONTINUING EDUCATION
PDH: 1
ASHA CEU*: 0.1
COURSE DETAILS
Item #(s): PD102646
Available Through: December 09, 2027