RELIABILITY OF PROXY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORT COMMUNICATIVE PARTICIPATION FOR PERSONS WITH APHASIA

Purpose: In this pilot study, the author investigated the association of proxy report of communicative participation for persons with aphasia (PWA) to determine if proxy report can be used to assess communicative participation status. Method: The current study included 7 PWA- proxy pairs. All participants were administered the Communicative Participation Item Bank General Short Form (CPIB). PWA and proxy responses and various participant characteristics (e.g., age, severity of aphasia, time post onset, relationship and time spent together) were compared using graphic representations and statistical analyses. Results: Inferential statistical analysis was unreliable due to small sample size; consequently, visual inspection was the primary means for interpretation. Overall, proxies rated communicative participation lower than PWA and rated higher communicative participation for PWA with less severe aphasia. Male proxies rated communicative participation lower than females. Male PWA rated their communicative participation greater than did females. PWA report of communicative participation and severity of aphasia did not appear to be associated. Differences of time spent together and relationship between PWA and proxy were unable to be determined due to the homogeneity of sample in regards to these characteristics. Conclusions: This study suggests that there is modest association between PWA and proxy report on the CPIB. Although the PWA reported with a negative bias, proxy report paralleled PWA report. Low proxy report of communication is associated with increased PWA and proxy age, time post onset, and severity of aphasia. Limitations of the current study included small sample size, difficulty controlling participant attributes, discrepancies in administration techniques, and using unrepresentative language scores. The CPIB may be used with PWA with intact receptive language to assess communicative participation but may not be appropriate for individuals with impaired receptive language. Preliminary results indicate that further evaluation of proxy reliability and any influencing factors is warranted.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Montana

Year

2013

Author dc:creator

• Eandi, Megan Rose

• aphasia
• communicative participation
• outcome measure
• proxy

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/818

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.umt.edu:etd-1837