A Pilot Study Comparing Teletherapy with the Conventional Face-to-Face Therapy for Speech-Language Disorders.

ABSTRACT: Speech-language therapists along with affected individuals face various challenges for accomplishing the rehabilitation services. In the current COVID19 pandemic scenario, telerehabilitation has emerged as a substitute to the traditional face-to-face therapy, and is the only option possible in some cases. To subjectively assess the feasibility & acceptability of telerehabilitation provided by speech-language pathologist to patients of speech and language disorders. This qualitative study includes 20 patients suffering from disorders of fluency, voice, swallowing and neurogenic disorders. The participants included were undergoing face-to-face therapy at our institute. After the completion of face-to-face session series, telerehabilitation services were provided through a video calling app. The outcomes of teletherapy were assessed subjectively using a structured questionnaire on 11 parameters using a Likert scale. Of the included 20 patients, after completion of teletherapy, four patients chose the physical interaction as the preferred mode of therapy while 16 chose teletherapy as the preferred mode. Except three clients who rated their overall satisfaction as '3', others rated as '4' or '5'.The therapists were satisfied with the outcomes in 17 cases, and were pleased with the overall progress of all the clients (rated 4 or 5). Telerehabilitation is a reliable method to deliver speech and language services at community level, on long-term basis, as is proven by the high satisfaction scores among the clients as well as the service providers. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered in Clinical Trials Registry of India (CTRI) vide number CTRI/2018/04/ 012,922 (http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/login.php) on 02/04/2018.

Atuação da psicologia em unidade neonatal no contexto da pandemia da covid-19 / The work of psychology in a neonatal unit in the covid-19 pandemic / Actuación de la psicología en una unidad neonatal en el contexto de la pandemia de la covid-19

A pandemia de covid-19 provocou intensas mudanças no contexto do cuidado neonatal, exigindo dos profissionais de saúde a reformulação de práticas e o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias para a manutenção da atenção integral e humanizada ao recém-nascido. O objetivo deste artigo é relatar a atuação da Psicologia nas Unidades Neonatais de um hospital público de Fortaleza (CE), Brasil, durante o período de distanciamento físico da pandemia de covid-19. Trata-se de estudo descritivo, do tipo relato de experiência, que ocorreu no período de março a agosto de 2020. No contexto pandêmico, o serviço de Psicologia desenvolveu novas condutas assistenciais para atender às demandas emergentes do momento, como: atendimento remoto; registro e envio on-line de imagens do recém-nascido a seus familiares; visitas virtuais; e reprodução de mensagens de áudio da família para o neonato. Apesar dos desafios encontrados, as ações contribuíram para a manutenção do cuidado centrado no recém-nascido e sua família, o que demonstra a potencialidade do fazer psicológico.(AU)

The COVID-19 pandemic brought intense changes to neonatal care and required health professionals to reformulate practices and develop new strategies to ensure comprehensive and humanized care for newborn. This study aims to report the experience of the Psychology Service in the Neonatal Units of a public hospital in Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará, Brazil, during the social distancing period of the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive experience report study was conducted from March to August 2020. During the pandemic, the Psychology Service developed new care practices to meet the emerging demands of that moment, such as remote care, recordings and online submission of newborns' pictures and video images for their family, virtual tours, and reproduction of family audio messages for the newborns. Despite the challenges, the actions contributed to the maintenance of a care that is centered on the newborns and their families, which shows the potential of psychological practices.(AU)

La pandemia de la COVID-19 ha traído cambios intensos en el contexto de la atención neonatal, que requieren de los profesionales de la salud una reformulación de sus prácticas y el desarrollo de nuevas estrategias para asegurar una atención integral y humanizada al recién nacido. El objetivo de este artículo es reportar la experiencia del Servicio de Psicología en las Unidades Neonatales de un hospital público de Fortaleza, en Ceará, Brasil, durante el periodo de distanciamiento físico en la pandemia de la COVID-19. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo, un reporte de experiencia, que se llevó a cabo de marzo a agosto de 2020. En el contexto pandémico, el servicio de Psicología desarrolló nuevas conductas asistenciales para atender a las demandas emergentes del momento, tales como: atención remota; grabación y envío em línea de imágenes del recién nacido; visitas virtuales; y reproducción de mensajes de audio de la familia para el recién nacido. A pesar de los desafíos encontrados, las acciones contribuyeron al mantenimiento de la atención centrada en el recién nacido y su familia, lo que demuestra el potencial de la práctica psicológica.(AU)

Cost-effectiveness strategies in OSAS management: a short review.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSAS) is an underdiagnosed chronic disease with a high prevalence in adults. It is becoming a significant social problem, since it is associated with a worsening in quality of life and increase in mortality. The cost-effectiveness ratio of diagnostic and therapeutic management of OSAS is a strategic issue to counteract the expected increasing demand of objective testing. OSAS patients with any clinical evidence of comorbidities must be studied using simplified and less expensive systems such as Home Sleep Testing (HST). On the other hand, Sleep Laboratory Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard to manage OSAS patients with comorbidities. It should be pointed out that the use of HST can lead to incorrect diagnosis in poorly selected OSAS subjects. This short review discusses various topics for the proper diagnosis and treatment of OSAS in view of epidemiological factors and results in terms of costs and social benefit of the disease. Whatever the strategy chosen and/or the organisational model adopted for managing OSAS, it cannot and should not take into account only cost-effectiveness. Long-term prospective studies evaluating cost-effectiveness ratios and outcomes of OSAS treatment of hospital management models versus home care models are needed.