Collaborative approaches with stakeholders in speech-language pathology: Narrative literature review

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology (SLP)
• Collaborative approaches
• Stakeholder involvement

Background:

• Collaborative approaches, including co-design and co-production, are increasingly recognized in healthcare for integrating client experiences into service development.
• While widely accepted, the collective use and evidence of these collaborative methods in SLP literature remain underexplored.
• Existing literature highlights the expectation for health services to involve stakeholders in development and evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore and synthesize how collaborative approaches used in developing SLP products or services are reported in the literature.
• To map the diversity of collaborative approaches, terminology, and stakeholder involvement within SLP practice.
• To identify strengths and opportunities in reporting stakeholder engagement using the GRIPP2 checklist.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review methodology was employed, involving systematic searches of three databases and hand searching.
• Fifty-nine articles were selected for data extraction and narrative synthesis following initial screening.
• The Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public, Version 2 (GRIPP2) checklist informed the review process.

Main Results:

• Collaborative approaches in SLP are diverse in terminology and tools, with a significant increase in publications after 2020.
• Stakeholder involvement varied, predominantly occurring during research activities rather than planning, analysis, or reporting.
• Rigorous reporting of stakeholder involvement, guided by GRIPP2, revealed how contributions benefited the study, particularly concerning communication abilities.

Conclusions:

• Reported collaborative approaches in SLP emphasize valuing individuals with lived experience of communication and swallowing difficulties.
• This review provides resources to support decision-making and collaboration with stakeholders in SLP.
• Future research should focus on consistent terminology, utilizing frameworks for planning and reporting, and ensuring stakeholder involvement across the research continuum.