Native American Populations and Speech-Language Pathologists: Knowledge, Perceptions, and Therapy Usage.

 

Elisabeth Alvarado, a fourth year undergraduate student, in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is a Native American, specifically of the Apache and Yaqui tribes. She is working on a research project under the guidance of Dr. Kris Brock, an assistant professor at Idaho State University in Meridian, Idaho (who was affiliated at CSUF from fall 2015 until fall 2017). They are investigating the barriers for Native American stroke survivors receiving speech therapy services. Native Americans are predisposed to cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) which lead to speech-language disorders such as aphasia. There is a lack of research with this population (Attenello, Adamczyk, Wen, He, Zhang, Russin, et al., 2014; Frey, Jahnke, & Bulfinch, 2017). In addition, research focusing on minority speech-language health has found that Native Americans are strikingly absent from SLP caseloads (Centeno, 2009). The aim of this project is to assess Native Americans’ perceptions and knowledge of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and speech therapy. Structured interview style questions will ask Native Americans about their knowledge and perceptions of SLPs, past experiences with healthcare, availability of health and speech services, hesitations to access services, and questions concerning culturally sensitive therapy methods