Environmental factors that influence the community participation of adults with aphasia: The perspective of service industry workers

Little research has identified the environmental facilitators and barriers to participation for people with aphasia in the community, and little research focusing on the perspective of service industry workers. This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to community participation for adults with aphasia from the perspective of service industry workers. Eight focus groups were conducted with 24 service industry employees. Three categories of barriers and facilitators were identified: 1) People Environmental Factors, such as people’s awareness and assumptions about aphasia, 2) Physical Environmental Factors, such as written information and forms, and 3) Business or Organisational Environmental Factors, such as the communicative demands of the business transaction.