TY - JOUR
T1 - Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for nursing students; equipping the next generation of nursing professionals
AU - Woodring, Faith
AU - Harmon, Mary Towle
N1 - Funding Information:
One program was developed, The Study of Patient-Nurse Effectiveness with Assisted Communication Strategies (SPEACS), through a federally funded grant from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (5R01-HD043988) ( Happ et al., 2008 ). It has since evolved into the SPEACS-2, an online modular program that educates medical professionals on the use of AAC and general communication strategies with patients who are minimally verbal ( Happ et al., 2010 ). To date, it is one of the only comprehensive online training resources available on this topic. While this training has been successfully used during various research experiments with nursing staff in the acute and critical care unit settings ( Happ et al., 2010 ), it is not widely used by hospital systems as a whole ( Happ, 2021 ; Downey and Happ, 2013 ). Tate et al., introduced StudentSPEACS ( Tate et al., 2020 ), a version of SPEACS-2 ( Happ et al., 2008 ), to their existing curriculum. In this feasibility study, the researcher included online training, in-class lectures, and simulation training for prelicensure nursing students. One year following the project, students were surveyed to measure the application of the content in their clinical settings. While students found the information valuable, they continued to struggle with their comfort level and ability to communicate with non-speaking patients.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - Background: Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is often used for patients who are temporarily non-speaking. However, considering AAC for these patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has only recently started to gain the attention of health care providers in the hospital setting. Currently, few nursing programs include content in their curricula as relates to this population. Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of embedding a brief inservice into an existing undergraduate nursing course, and to determine the feasibility and relevance of AAC use during their clinical ICU rotation. Design: A longitudinal survey study using three time points: pre- and post-inservice, and post implementation following a clinical rotation. Setting: University nursing program classroom during an Adult Health and Illness course. Participants: Twenty-seven undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Adult Health and Illness course. Methods: The participants were given a brief inservice educating them on the use of AAC. The students were given AAC boards to use during their ICU clinical rotation. Survey data was collected before and after the inservice and at the end of the clinical rotation. Results: Pre-service nursing students responded favorably to a brief inservice embedded into an existing nursing course. Survey data indicated an increase in the students' knowledge of AAC (z = 4.52, p <.05) and awareness that AAC can improve communication between patients and staff (z = 2.24, p <.05). Conclusion: An interdisciplinary activity between Communication Sciences and Disorders and Nursing departments about AAC could be a new and promising solution to increase communication with non-speaking patients in the ICU.
AB - Background: Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is often used for patients who are temporarily non-speaking. However, considering AAC for these patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has only recently started to gain the attention of health care providers in the hospital setting. Currently, few nursing programs include content in their curricula as relates to this population. Objectives: To investigate the feasibility of embedding a brief inservice into an existing undergraduate nursing course, and to determine the feasibility and relevance of AAC use during their clinical ICU rotation. Design: A longitudinal survey study using three time points: pre- and post-inservice, and post implementation following a clinical rotation. Setting: University nursing program classroom during an Adult Health and Illness course. Participants: Twenty-seven undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Adult Health and Illness course. Methods: The participants were given a brief inservice educating them on the use of AAC. The students were given AAC boards to use during their ICU clinical rotation. Survey data was collected before and after the inservice and at the end of the clinical rotation. Results: Pre-service nursing students responded favorably to a brief inservice embedded into an existing nursing course. Survey data indicated an increase in the students' knowledge of AAC (z = 4.52, p <.05) and awareness that AAC can improve communication between patients and staff (z = 2.24, p <.05). Conclusion: An interdisciplinary activity between Communication Sciences and Disorders and Nursing departments about AAC could be a new and promising solution to increase communication with non-speaking patients in the ICU.
KW - Augmentative and alternative communication
KW - Inservice
KW - Intensive care unit
KW - Interdisciplinary training
KW - Pre-service nursing students
KW - Speech-language pathology
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U2 - 10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105662
DO - 10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105662
M3 - Article
C2 - 36470039
AN - SCOPUS:85143323322
SN - 0260-6917
VL - 121
JO - Nurse Education Today
JF - Nurse Education Today
M1 - 105662
ER -