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Impact of an Educative Workshop on Aspiration, Targeting Patients with Dysphagia, and Their Family Caregiver: A Randomized Pilot Study

Zahya Ghaddar, Puech M, Matar N

Background: In swallowing rehabilitation, conventional methods for patient rehabilitation may be insufficient. Therapeutic Patient Education (TPE) may improve the results of these conventional techniques.

Aim of the study: This randomized pilot study aimed to assess the impact of an educative workshop designed for patients with dysphagia and their family caregivers, on adherence to swallowing rehabilitation and quality of life (QOL).

Methods: This workshop simultaneously targeted the understanding and explanation of aspiration, its clinical signs, and decisions regarding food consistency to avoid aspiration. In this randomized pilot study, the intervention was carried out on 16 patients for three months. The Experimental Group (EG) is comprised of 8 patients undergoing conventional swallowing rehabilitation and an educative workshop. The Control Group (CG) is comprised of 8 patients undergoing only conventional swallowing rehabilitation. The pre- and posttest evaluation of the impact of the workshop was based on four instruments: The Arabic-Dysphagia Handicap Index (A-DHI), items of the Caregiver Mealtime and Dysphagia Questionnaire (CMDQ), a questionnaire assessing knowledge linked to aspiration, and a QOL scale. For the CG, the posttest was conducted one week following the pretest. As for the EG, the posttest was conducted one week after the educative workshop on aspiration.

Results: Results showed a significant difference in the scores of the knowledge linked to the aspiration questionnaire. (p - value=0.002) and the QOL scale (p - value=0.04) for the EG only.

Conclusion: The preliminary results obtained are encouraging to continue this study. Future work is needed with a higher frequency of educative workshops, a higher number of patients and complete validation of the outcome measures.