Nicole McGill attended
the Giant Steps Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on
21-22 November 2019 to present research from her PhD. The conference was run by
Safer Care Victoria and focused on the themes of leadership, health challenges,
and delivering high-quality health care. Over 500 delegates were in attendance,
including health care leaders and executives, researchers, clinicians, and
consumers. Nicole presented a poster about the Active/Passive Waiting Study, a
randomised controlled trial conducted in a community health centre in Victoria.
The research was supported by a NSW Health Translational Research grant and
conducted in collaboration with CSU researchers and NSW Health speech-language
pathologists.
The abstract is here:
Randomised
controlled trial evaluating provision of a website to promote active waiting
for speech pathology
Authors: Nicole
McGill (presenting), Sharynne McLeod, Emily Davis, Katrina Rohr, Katherine
Miller, Nicola Ivory
Theme: Delivering
high quality care
Abstract
Background:
Children with communication difficulties sometimes wait over 12 months for
speech pathology, missing the benefits of early intervention. Websites may
encourage active waiting and improve children’s and families’ outcomes.
Objectives: To
evaluate the effectiveness of an active-waiting website on children’s outcomes
and caregivers’ perceptions.
Method:
Preschool-aged children (n = 97) referred to community health speech
pathology were screened. Eligible children (n = 42) with speech/language
concerns were randomly allocated to active waiting (provision of website; n
= 20) or control (n = 22). Pre- and post-intervention outcomes were
measured.
Results: One-way
ANCOVA intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses were conducted, controlling
for pre-intervention scores. There were no significant differences in
children’s speech, intelligibility, language, and literacy, and caregivers’
empowerment and satisfaction between groups*.
Conclusion: All
children received face-to-face speech pathology assessments following referral.
Provision of a website in addition to assessment did not change children's
outcomes or caregivers' perceptions.
*These results will be
compared with another randomised controlled trial comparing access to either
the active-waiting website, advice, or 12 sessions of therapy (McLeod et al.,
2019).
Acknowledgements: The
active-waiting website was funded by a NSW Translational Research Grant
(2017/38). This research was supported by a Nadia Verrall Memorial Research
grant awarded by Speech Pathology Australia in 2018. Support from Catherine
Teskera, Carolynne Winbanks, Angela Roberts, Sally Thornton, and Nina Ahio is
acknow
