Medical Professionals’ Awareness of Communication Disorders and Speech-language Therapy

Introduction: Early referrals to speech language pathologists (SLPs) improve outcomes for individuals with communication disorders, emphasizing the importance of interprofessional collaboration. However, limited attention has been directed toward medical professionals’ awareness of communication disorders and the scope of speech language therapy (SLT), both of which are crucial for comprehensive patient care. This study aimed to assess awareness and knowledge of communication disorders and SLT among medical professionals at a tertiary care center. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A total of 313 medical professionals were recruited through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a 16-item questionnaire evaluating awareness and knowledge of communication disorders and SLT. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics. Given the nonparametric nature of data, the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test compared awareness and knowledge domains, and Spearman’s rank-order correlation examined associations with demographic variables, with significance set at P < 0.05. Results: Medical professionals reported significantly higher awareness and knowledge of SLT compared to communication disorders ( P < 0.001). No correlations were observed between work experience and either domain, nor between age and either domain. Conclusion: Awareness of SLT among medical professionals was relatively high, but knowledge of communication disorders remained limited. These findings emphasize the need to integrate interprofessional training within medical education. Despite the single-site design, the study highlights the importance of increasing awareness of medical professionals about communication disorders; and brings out the need for larger, multi-centric research to inform curriculum development and enhance collaboration.