ASHA Learning Pass

Loss of effective communication can occur across the spectrum of critical illness and recovery, particularly with the use of artificial airways, including endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes. Patients report ongoing, long-term impacts to their psychosocial well-being and quality of life due to their lack of ability to communicate immediate care and comfort needs as well as participate in activities with a variety of communication partners. This session focuses on identifying, measuring, and supporting a patient’s psychosocial well-being and quality of life as it relates to communication function.

This is a recorded session from a 2024 ASHA online conference, Airway Fundamentals: Considerations for SLP Decision-Making.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• Explain the concept of critical illness communication disability 
• Use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) to discuss the impact of altered communication across the continuum of critical illness, including after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) 
• Discuss tools and outcomes related to evaluating psychosocial impact and quality of life

Related Courses

See more sessions from Airway Fundamentals: Considerations for SLP Decision-Making.

Presenter Information

Amy Freeman-Sanderson, PhD, CPSP (she/her/hers) is a senior lecturer and a Certified Practicing Speech Pathologist at the Graduate School of Health, University of Technology Sydney. She holds an Honorary Clinical Specialist Speech Pathologist appointment at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney, is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the Critical Care Division at The George Institute for Global Health, and is an affiliate of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She has over 20 years of clinical experience in quaternary and tertiary Sydney and London hospitals. She has gained leadership and management experience through various clinical positions, including Head of Department Speech Pathology Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Her clinically focused international research program aims to optimize communication and swallowing outcomes for patients following critical illness. A core focus of her work is empowering and enabling patient communication in an acute setting. She has disseminated her work globally, authoring 40 publications and delivering over 80 presentations, and has been awarded over $1.6 million dollars in research funding.

Disclosures:

• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

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 and submit the learning assessment by the end date below.

Program History and CE Information

Online conference dates: June 5–17, 2024, November 6-18, 2024
End date: March 17, 2030

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