[Problems of Home-Visiting Speech-Language-Hearing Therapists in Dysphagia Management]

There are fewer reports by speech-language-hearing therapists than those by physical therapists or occupational therapists for visiting rehabilitation. Therefore, we examined the present situation with emphasis on professional roles of speech-language- hearing therapists working in visiting rehabilitation, patient tendency, and dysphagia rehabilitation. A questionnaire survey and interview survey were conducted on 6 speech-language-hearing therapists working in visiting rehabilitation. In the questionnaire, personal attributes, subject area, details of dysphagia rehabilitation, professional duties, and tendency of patient in charge were collected. In the interview survey, we asked about trends and request status, evaluation and training protocol for patients with dysphagia, activities related to pneumonia prevention, and future directions in the field. Results show that many linguistichearing experts worked with dysphagia patients, indicating that the needs for respiratory rehabilitation and dysphagia rehabilitation are high. In this survey, the environment surrounding visiting speech-language-hearing therapists and patients with dysphagia was clarified.