Causality and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences: epidemiological approach.

Area of Science:

• Speech and Hearing Science
• Epidemiology
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) research often focuses on associations rather than causal links.
• Establishing causality is crucial for effective diagnosis and intervention in SLP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review SLP literature from an epidemiological and causality perspective.
• To determine if existing SLP studies employ methods capable of inferring causality.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a comprehensive national and international literature search (PubMed, SciELO, gray literature) up to January 2019.
• Included studies with causal epidemiological approaches in speech therapy; excluded those lacking appropriate cause-and-effect methodology.
• Two independent reviewers extracted data including author, publication year, country, theoretical conception, and discussion.

Main Results:

• A total of 3842 articles were identified in the initial search.
• Critically, none of the reviewed articles investigated outcomes from a causality standpoint.
• No studies allowed for the inference of cause and effect relationships.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant deficit of studies in Speech-Language Pathology that establish causality.
• This shortage may compromise the effectiveness and reliability of SLP diagnoses and therapies.
• SLP practice currently relies more on association than on evidence-based cause-and-effect relationships.