Allied health professions LifecurveTM survey: report on respondents with communication support needs

6. Main Findings

• Communication support needs: approximately one fifth of survey respondents reported having communication support needs. These needs could reflect loss of voice or difficulty speaking, but also wider sensory needs such as vision or hearing loss.
• Age Profile:
  • survey respondents were on average older when compared with the population of Scotland;
  • survey respondents with communication support needs were older on average than respondents without communication support needs: a higher proportion were aged over 65.
• LifeCurve^TM profile: a higher proportion of respondents with communication support needs were in the 'late-curve', reflecting a greater loss of functional ability, while respondents without communication support needs were more likely to be 'pre-curve'.
• Appointment location: respondents with communication support needs were more likely to be seen as in-patients or at home, while respondents without communication support needs were more likely to be seen as out-patients.
• Travel to appointment: respondents with communication support needs were more likely to select N/A (not applicable) from the travel options presented, probably reflecting their appointment location profile discussed above.
• Living arrangements: slightly more respondents with communication support needs lived alone, whereas respondents without communication support needs were slightly more likely to live with others. A relatively small proportion of both groups lived in sheltered accommodation or care homes.
• Home suitability: respondents with communication support needs were less likely to be able to manage their daily activities and more likely to report difficulties, compared with respondents without communication support needs.
• Emotional wellbeing: the profiles of respondents with and without communication support needs were similar, witha clear majority in both groups reporting their wellbeing positively or neutrally.
• Referral source: the majority of respondents with and without communication support needs were referred to an AHP by another healthcare staff member.
• AHP professions seen: people with communication support needs were accessing a wide range of AHP services. Around half of those respondents were seeing an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist. Only 8% of this group were seeing a speech and language therapist or support worker.