Representing voices from the life‐world in evidence‐based practice

Abstract

To understand the complex nature of communication disorders and the efficacy of our helping practices requires not only the analysis of objective material phenomena like part-word repetitions, phonemes and morphemes, but also an examination of how these phenomena are interpreted and valued as forms of communication by clients and significant others in the life-world. Personal experience narrative is suggested as one means for understanding experienced outcomes. Other qualitatively oriented methodologies and concepts associated with ethnography of communication and discourse analysis will undoubtedly be useful in this regard.

The long term effectiveness of intensive stuttering therapy: A mixed methods study

“…However, according to the ICIDH/ICF framework (Yaruss, 1998b(Yaruss, , 2007(Yaruss, , 2010 and the general guidelines for EBP (ASHA, 2004), gathering clients' opinions on treatment effectiveness and treatment outcomes is just as important as standard clinical measures and does contribute to establishing ecological validity (Kovarsky, 2008). A limited number of studies that are primarily qualitative in nature have explored client perceptions of treatment effectiveness.…”

“…Considering the complexity of stuttering and its impact on the individual's functioning and quality of life, evaluating only empirical evidence and limiting ourselves to questions which lend themselves to designs involving randomized controlled trials (RCTs) might diminish our ability to interpret the ecological validity of evidence (Kovarsky, 2008). Large-scale quantitative studies that generally comprise the higher levels of the EBP framework provide us with some knowledge of outcomes (Stewart & Richardson, 2004), often related to overt symptoms of stuttering.…”

“…A few previous studies have reported on initial treatment outcomes of this program (Gabel, Daniels, & Hughes, 2005, 2008Gabel, Irani, Palasik, Swartz, & Hughes, 2010) and each of these studies used a mixed methods design to evaluate treatment outcomes for four clients who attended the program. In addition to gathering quantitative data to measure changes in disfluencies and attitudes, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with all participants.…”

“…Quantitative clinical data included questionnaires that assessed the participants' feelings and attitudes toward speech and communication. These questionnaires included: (1) Locus of Control of Behavior Scale (LCB; Craig, Franklin, & Andrews, 1984); (2) Erickson S-24 Scale of Communication Attitudes (S-24) (Andrews & Cutler, 1974); and (3) Overall Assessment of Speakers' Experiences of Stuttering (OASES) (Yaruss & Quesal, 2006, 2008.…”

Qualitative studies investigating the effectiveness of stroke rehabilitation - methodological approaches and perspectives / Qualitative Studien zur Wirkung therapeutischer Interventionen – methodische Zugänge und Perspektiven am Beispiel Schlaganfallrehabilitation

“…Vertreter/-innen verschiedener qualitativer Forschungsansätze haben die Zuweisung einer weitgehend vorbereitenden Rolle qualitativer Methoden in der Evaluation komplexer Interventionen vielfach kritisiert (Kovarsky, 2008) und eine Anpassung der traditionellen Evidenzhierarchie gefordert (Tomlin & Borgetto, 2011). Diese Impulse stoßen in der Bewegung der evidenzbasierten Praxis derzeit nur sehr eingeschränkt auf Resonanz.…”