Pilot trial of the online implementation intervention Aphasia Nexus: Connecting Evidence to Practice

Aphasia Nexus: Connecting Evidence to Practice is a theoretically-based online implementation intervention designed to overcome the barriers related to the implementation of intensive and comprehensive aphasia services. The objective was to establish the feasibility of incorporating Aphasia Nexus within routine clinical practice through an evaluation of: (1) its potential to positively influence the intensity and/or comprehensiveness of aphasia services; (2) the ability of selected outcome measures to capture changes to factors influencing implementation; and (3) the acceptability of the website to on-site speech-language pathologists (SLPs).

A single arm pre-post pilot trial was conducted within an Australian health service. The design collected qualitative and quantitative pre-post data in the form of therapy logs, behaviour change questionnaires, and a post-intervention focus group. Data were collected one week prior to, and one week following, a 12 week implementation period where participating SLPs (n = 5) were provided access to the Aphasia Nexus website.

Quantitative data revealed improvements in the median time per patient with aphasia from 65 to 115 minutes per week (intensity/dose), an additional 50 minutes per week. SLPs trialled at least one new therapy approach (Attentive Reading and Constrained Summarisation) and service delivery model (group therapy) representing an increase in the comprehensiveness of their services to patients. SLPs perceived a reduction in the barriers associated with the promotion of new aphasia services. Qualitative analysis of focus group discussion revealed that participants considered Aphasia Nexus in the overarching theme of practice efficiency (obtaining the best outcome from the least amount of effort) and the sub-themes of accessible therapy resources and the prioritisation of time.

Overall, Aphasia Nexus was considered a useful clinical tool with the potential to positively influence clinical aphasia practice. These results will inform further implementation intervention refinements and will inform the methodology of future research.