Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists
Background There is an urgent global need to strengthen rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, rehabilitation services for people with communication disabilities continue to be underdeveloped. A first step in strengthening services for people with a communicati...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
AOSIS
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/75937 |
| _version_ | 1848763588797267968 |
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| author | Wylie, Karen McAllister, Lindy Davidson, Bronwyn Marshall, Julie |
| author_facet | Wylie, Karen McAllister, Lindy Davidson, Bronwyn Marshall, Julie |
| author_sort | Wylie, Karen |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background
There is an urgent global need to strengthen rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, rehabilitation services for people with communication disabilities continue to be underdeveloped. A first step in strengthening services for people with a communication disabilities is to understand the composition and conditions of the current workforce.
Objectives
This research describes a sample of the speech and language therapists (SLTs) working in SSA (excluding South Africa). This study explores the characteristics of this workforce, including their demographics, education, experience and geographical stability.
Method
A mixed-methods survey was used to collect data from SLTs within Anglophone countries of SSA. Completed surveys were received from 33 respondents working in 44 jobs across nine countries. Analysis included descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics. This study reports on a subset of descriptive and quantitative data from the wider survey.
Results
A background profile of SLTs across the region is presented. Results indicated that the workforce of SLTs comprised a mix of local and international SLTs, with university-level education. Local SLTs were educated both within and outside of Africa, with more recent graduates trained in Africa. These data reflected the local emergence of speech and language therapy training in SSA.
Conclusion
This sample comprised a mix of African and international SLTs, with indications of growing localisation of the workforce. Workforce localisation offers potential advantages of linguistic diversity and stability. Challenges including workforce support and developing culturally and contextually relevant SLT practices are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:05:51Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-75937 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:05:51Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-759372020-12-03T03:52:46Z Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists Wylie, Karen McAllister, Lindy Davidson, Bronwyn Marshall, Julie Background There is an urgent global need to strengthen rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, rehabilitation services for people with communication disabilities continue to be underdeveloped. A first step in strengthening services for people with a communication disabilities is to understand the composition and conditions of the current workforce. Objectives This research describes a sample of the speech and language therapists (SLTs) working in SSA (excluding South Africa). This study explores the characteristics of this workforce, including their demographics, education, experience and geographical stability. Method A mixed-methods survey was used to collect data from SLTs within Anglophone countries of SSA. Completed surveys were received from 33 respondents working in 44 jobs across nine countries. Analysis included descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics. This study reports on a subset of descriptive and quantitative data from the wider survey. Results A background profile of SLTs across the region is presented. Results indicated that the workforce of SLTs comprised a mix of local and international SLTs, with university-level education. Local SLTs were educated both within and outside of Africa, with more recent graduates trained in Africa. These data reflected the local emergence of speech and language therapy training in SSA. Conclusion This sample comprised a mix of African and international SLTs, with indications of growing localisation of the workforce. Workforce localisation offers potential advantages of linguistic diversity and stability. Challenges including workforce support and developing culturally and contextually relevant SLT practices are discussed. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/75937 10.4102/ajod.v5i1.227 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ AOSIS fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Wylie, Karen McAllister, Lindy Davidson, Bronwyn Marshall, Julie Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| title | Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| title_full | Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| title_fullStr | Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| title_full_unstemmed | Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| title_short | Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| title_sort | communication rehabilitation in sub-saharan africa: a workforce profile of speech and language therapists |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/75937 |