Authors : Jehad Ahmad Alaraifi, Wesam Barakat Darawsheh and Yaser Said Natour
Abstract: There is a scantiness of information regarding the etiology of dysphagia and the rehabilitation services offered to affected individuals in Jordan. This study aims to investigate the perspectives of patients and service providers regarding the etiologies associated with dysphagia and the rehabilitation services provided to patients in Jordan. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the North and middle regions of Jordan. The participants were adult patients who presented with dysphagia in 4 public and 6 private medical settings. The study also included medical professionals involved in its management located in 5 public and 6 private medical settings. All participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire on disorders associated with dysphagia conditions and the services provided to patients presenting with dysphagia. A total of 219 patients presenting with dysphagia and 217 adult medical professionals completed the survey. Patients and professionals perceived medical doctors as the professionals entitled to work with dysphagia. Further, medication is perceived by 99 (45.2%) patients as the primary mode of treatment for dysphagia while the majority of professionals 150 (69.1%) perceived nonoral feeding the primary mode of treatment for dysphagia. It is concluded that well-developed professional dysphagia intervention programs in Jordan are scarce and concerned professionals (i.e., speech language pathologists and occupational therapists) are not fully involved in the rehabilitation of patients with dysphagia.
Jehad Ahmad Alaraifi, Wesam Barakat Darawsheh and Yaser Said Natour, 2019. Dysphagia and Rehabilitation Services in Jordan: Patients and Provider Perspectives. Research Journal of Medical Sciences, 13: 69-75.