Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder, often resulting from a stroke, that impacts millions of Americans. People with aphasia (PWA) may frequent the hospital for a number of services poststroke and are often accompanied by their primary communication partners (PCP), the person with whom the PWA communicates with the most. This qualitative study explored the experiences of four dyads of PWA and their PCPs’ perspectives on communicating with healthcare providers (HCPs). Findings indicated that there are attributes of HCP interactions which contribute to patient-perceived success, such as collaboration with PCPs, and aphasia knowledge. These attributes were also associated with patient-centered care. In addition, dyads spoke about the importance of their PWA-PCP teamwork in approaching HCP interactions, with PCP advocacy, background, and flexibility contributing to successful teamwork. This study suggests that areas in which participants were dissatisfied with HCP services may be remedied by communication partner training for HCPs and PCPs.
","abstract_html":"<p>Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder, often resulting from a stroke, that impacts millions of Americans. People with aphasia (PWA) may frequent the hospital for a number of services poststroke and are often accompanied by their primary communication partners (PCP), the person with whom the PWA communicates with the most. This qualitative study explored the experiences of four dyads of PWA and their PCPs’ perspectives on communicating with healthcare providers (HCPs). Findings indicated that there are attributes of HCP interactions which contribute to patient-perceived success, such as collaboration with PCPs, and aphasia knowledge. These attributes were also associated with patient-centered care. In addition, dyads spoke about the importance of their PWA-PCP teamwork in approaching HCP interactions, with PCP advocacy, background, and flexibility contributing to successful teamwork. This study suggests that areas in which participants were dissatisfied with HCP services may be remedied by communication partner training for HCPs and PCPs.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bull, Madelaine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sarah M. Ginsberg, Ed.D.","Naomi Hashimoto, Ph.D.","Katie Ann Strong, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["aphasia","communication partner training","healthcare","partners","patient-centered care","people with aphasia","Speech Pathology and Audiology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1112","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sarah M. Ginsberg, Ed.D.","Naomi Hashimoto, Ph.D.","Katie Ann Strong, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bull, Madelaine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-01-31T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["aphasia","communication partner training","healthcare","partners","patient-centered care","people with aphasia","Speech Pathology and Audiology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1112"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder, often resulting from a stroke, that impacts millions of Americans. People with aphasia (PWA) may frequent the hospital for a number of services poststroke and are often accompanied by their primary communication partners (PCP), the person with whom the PWA communicates with the most. This qualitative study explored the experiences of four dyads of PWA and their PCPs’ perspectives on communicating with healthcare providers (HCPs). Findings indicated that there are attributes of HCP interactions which contribute to patient-perceived success, such as collaboration with PCPs, and aphasia knowledge. These attributes were also associated with patient-centered care. In addition, dyads spoke about the importance of their PWA-PCP teamwork in approaching HCP interactions, with PCP advocacy, background, and flexibility contributing to successful teamwork. This study suggests that areas in which participants were dissatisfied with HCP services may be remedied by communication partner training for HCPs and PCPs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Experiences of people with aphasia communicating with healthcare providers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sarah M. Ginsberg, Ed.D.","Naomi Hashimoto, Ph.D.","Katie Ann Strong, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Bull, Madelaine"],"dc:date.available":["2022-01-31T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder, often resulting from a stroke, that impacts millions of Americans. People with aphasia (PWA) may frequent the hospital for a number of services poststroke and are often accompanied by their primary communication partners (PCP), the person with whom the PWA communicates with the most. This qualitative study explored the experiences of four dyads of PWA and their PCPs’ perspectives on communicating with healthcare providers (HCPs). Findings indicated that there are attributes of HCP interactions which contribute to patient-perceived success, such as collaboration with PCPs, and aphasia knowledge. These attributes were also associated with patient-centered care. In addition, dyads spoke about the importance of their PWA-PCP teamwork in approaching HCP interactions, with PCP advocacy, background, and flexibility contributing to successful teamwork. This study suggests that areas in which participants were dissatisfied with HCP services may be remedied by communication partner training for HCPs and PCPs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1112"],"dc:subject":["aphasia","communication partner training","healthcare","partners","patient-centered care","people with aphasia","Speech Pathology and Audiology"],"dc:title":["Experiences of people with aphasia communicating with healthcare providers"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Special Education and Communication Sciences and Disorders"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}