Background
Introduction
Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the UK. Each year, 130,000 people suffer a stroke in England and Wales. At any time, 250,000 people in the UK live with severe disability following a stroke. Traditionally stroke has been seen as a disease of old age but it is now recognised as a neurological condition affecting people of all ages; one quarter of people with stroke are under the age of 65. Around half of all survivors are left dependent on others.
Post-Stroke Communication
About a third of stroke survivors will suffer some level of communication problems following the stroke. Such problems can affect parts or all of the motor apparatus responsible for producing speech, thus affecting clarity of speech and overall intelligibility (a condition known as dysarthria). Alternatively, stroke can affect the cognitive system for comprehending and formulating language (a condition known as dysphasia or aphasia). Some people will suffer impairment of both speech and language. Communication problems can seriously affect a person’s confidence by limiting social participation, even leading to social exclusion. Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) is typically provided for these people and may address the impairment or the functional and psychosocial effects of communication disability. Speech and Language Therapy services vary greatly across the country and are chronically under-funded. There is no national minimum standard and the overall picture of service delivery is patchy at best. Solid research evidence is a pre-requisite for planning evidence-based service delivery and systematic reviews for dysarthria and aphasia highlighted a lack of good quality research evidence of the effectiveness of Speech and Language Therapy. To try and rectify this situation, the ACT NoW study has been commissioned and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme.
To find out more about the study, you can access the Study at a Glance web page.
