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(Rockville, MD - May 21, 2009) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has collaborated with the Department of Veterans Affairs' Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) on evidence-based systematic reviews for dysphagia care and management.
The reviews are being published soon in a series of articles appearing in JRRD, Volume 46, Issue 2. JRRD is widely distributed in print and electronic format to both national and international audiences, reaching more than 500,000 readers across six continents.
The reviews are based on a year-long search of the literature on the specific compensatory swallowing postures and maneuvers commonly used in the treatment of dysphagia. They include side lying, chin tuck, head rotation, effortful swallow, Mendelsohn maneuver, supraglottic swallow, and super supraglottic swallow. In addition, the reviews examined the impact of these treatments on physiology, functional swallow ability, and pulmonary health for nondisordered healthy adults, neurological populations, and head and neck cancer populations.
ASHA was approached in Fall 2007 to be part of a task force initiated by the National Audiology and Speech Pathology VA Field Advisory Council. The group examined the state of the evidence on behavioral swallowing treatments and worked with ASHA to complete the series of the published systematic reviews.
The first article outlines the details of the systematic literature search and methodology that was used to critically appraise the evidence. The next three present three separate evidenced-based systematic reviews which examine the state of the evidence on seven swallowing postures and maneuvers for disordered and nondisordered populations. The final article discusses practical applications for treating individuals with oropharyngeal dysphagia.
These articles and other recently published dysphagia research can be viewed at http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/cluster/index.html. The articles have been cross referenced in the speech, communications, functional outcomes, and geriatric rehabilitation topic clusters.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
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