key: cord-0726315-d2a3qmfh authors: Happ, Mary Beth; Shin, Jiwon; Tate, Judith A. title: Overcoming Speech and Language Disorders in Acute and Critical Care: 40 Years Later date: 2020-04-13 journal: Geriatr Nurs DOI: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2020.04.008 sha: fb1516bc163cdfd3da6681e957b7570c5f8b6131 doc_id: 726315 cord_uid: d2a3qmfh nan Over the past 40 years, we witnessed advancements in hearing aid technology, and advocacy for hearing assessment and hearing aid access for older adults. However, less than 20-25% of persons who may benefit from hearing amplification devices or hearing aids own them, largely due to stigma, cost and access barriers. [3] Hearing amplification and the availability of amplification technology for hospitalized older adults who are hard-of hearing is still widely variable in acute care hospitals despite Joint Commission standards mandating hospitals to accommodate communication disability. [4] Experts recently called for increased attention to and enforcement of the Joint Commission standards specific to hearing amplification during acute care hospitalization. [4] Missed communication and misinterpretation are recognized as patient safety issues for hospitalized adults as evidence shows that persons with communication disabilities have greater risk for preventable adverse events during hospitalization. [5] The inability to access nurse call systems due to paralysis or weakness contributes to missed communication and is another form of communication impairment often experienced by hospitalized older adults, yet overlooked in care improvement initiatives. Zubow and Hurtig [6] reported that 33% of conscious patients in intensive care units are unable to use the conventional nurse call systems to initiate communication of basic needs. Our research and the work of colleagues in communication disorders science over the past four decades show that several common techniques that nurses rely on to communicate with nonvocal patients may contribute to misinterpretation of patient messages. For example, although many nurses rely on lip-reading to communicate with non-vocal patients, this Overcoming speech and language disorders Communicating with conscious and mechanically ventilated critically ill patients: a systematic review Implications of hearing care policy for nurses It's time to take hearing seriously Impact of patient communication problems on the risk of preventable adverse events in acute care settings A demographic study of AAC/AT needs in hospitalized patients Communication about health care: Observations from persons who are deaf or hard of hearing Use of augmentative and alternative communication by family members in the ICU Overcoming barriers to pain assessment: communicating pain information with intubated older adults Nurse-patient communication interactions in the ICU Improving patient safety and patient-provider communication A novel picture guide to improve spiritual care and reduce anxiety in mechanically ventilated adults in the intensive care unit Evaluating the usability and acceptability of communication tools with older adults SPEACS-2: intensive care unit "communication rounds" with speech language pathology Partnering with speech language pathologist to facilitate patient decision making during serious illness The Facilitated Sensemaking Model as a framework for familypatient communication during mechanical ventilation in the ICU. Crit Care Nurs Clinics N Am