Cochrane, Frances (2024) Exploring speech pathology services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with acquired neurogenic communication disorders. PhD thesis, Griffith University.

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Abstract

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are Australia's first peoples and are immensely diverse in terms of their cultures, languages, and home locations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience poorer health status compared with other Australian populations, including the prevalence and incidence of stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Acquired communication disorders (ACDs) such as aphasia, apraxia of speech, and dysarthria are common following stroke and TBI. ACDs can profoundly impact people's quality of life, and they may experience social isolation, depression, anxiety, loss of identity, and employment challenges. Given the higher rates of stroke and TBI in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, a large percentage of this population may present with ACDs. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, being able to communicate with others is integral to maintaining family connections through yarning, storytelling, and sharing culture. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' diversity and their individualised needs may not be well understood by health professionals, including speech-language pathologists (SLP). SLPs report feeling unconfident and that they lack resources when providing ACD services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that delivering client-centred, evidenced-based speech pathology services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is likely to be challenging.

Despite a wealth of literature and knowledge available in relation to stroke, TBI, and ACDs in Western European populations, there remains a significant research gap regarding how SLPs can provide culturally responsive practice when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with ACDs, including aspects of diagnosis, rehabilitation, education, and engagement. Gaining a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' backgrounds and the nature of hospital-based speech pathology practices may contribute to providing insights into how SLPs, and other health professionals, can provide culturally responsive services for this population. The research objective was to explore the delivery of speech pathology services in a hospital setting to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with acquired communication disorders (ACD) following neurological injury. The following five thesis aims support the exploration of the research objective:

Aim 1: to detail the current state of speech pathology service provision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with acquired communication disorders (ACD) following stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI);

Aim 2: to determine the clinical profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with a confirmed stroke or TBI following an acute neurological injury;

Aim 3: to describe the documented speech pathology services the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients received during their hospital admission and the subsequent outcomes;

Aim 4: to explore Indigenous health liaison officers' (IHLO) experiences of working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with ACDs and their experiences of working with speech-language pathologists (SLP) in the hospital setting;

Aim 5: to explore how and why speech pathology services are delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with ACDs in hospital and the experiences of those involved in the delivery and receipt of these services.

Item ID:	89687
Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	This thesis is open access from Griffith University.
Date Deposited:	12 Mar 2026 05:12
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science > 420110 Speech pathology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	21 INDIGENOUS > 2103 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health > 210399 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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