Telepractice Treatment for Aphasia: Association Between Clinical Outcomes and Client Satisfaction

Introduction: Health services research has demonstrated the association between patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes illustrating the importance of satisfaction in determining favorable treatment outcomes. Despite abundant evidence in the acute care setting, few researchers have explored these associations among patients receiving speech rehabilitation or therapeutic treatment particularly those receiving treatment through nontraditional delivery methods. Objective: To examine the satisfaction with a community-based telepractice approach for treating aphasia among stroke survivors who reside in rural areas and assess potential correlations between satisfaction and patient outcomes. Methods: In total, 22 adults with poststroke aphasia who resided in rural areas received comprehensive language-oriented treatment (LOT) for aphasia through community-based telepractice. Post-treatment satisfaction with the telepractice approach was assessed using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8). Results: After 12 sessions of LOT, Western Aphasia Battery-revised (WAB-R) aphasia quotients (AQs) improved on average 4.64 U. Mean scores on the CSQ-8 averaged 31.0/32.0, indicating a high level of satisfaction with the telepractice approach. In addition, each 1 U of improvement in patient satisfaction was associated with a 1.75 U increase in the WAB-R AQ. Conclusions: Examination of post-treatment satisfaction indicated that satisfaction was highly predictive of effectiveness—a one-point increase in satisfaction was associated with a nearly two-point increase in WAB-R AQ. Results echo findings from acute care studies underscoring the importance of the patient experience in treatment efficacy.