‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19

Background: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on every South African but more specifically healthcare professionals, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa implemented a nationwide lockdown as confirmed cases continued to ri...

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Main Authors: Skye N. Adams, Jaishika Seedat, Kim Coutts, Kelly-Ann Kater
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2021-02-01
Series:South African Journal of Communication Disorders
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/792
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spelling doaj-41af45b8beec4fb2a40d8f50516ccded2021-03-25T11:41:15ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Communication Disorders0379-80462225-47652021-02-01681e1e1210.4102/sajcd.v68i1.792626‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19Skye N. Adams0Jaishika Seedat1Kim Coutts2Kelly-Ann Kater3Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburgDepartment of Speech Pathology and Audiology, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburgDepartment of Speech Pathology and Audiology, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburgDepartment of Speech Pathology and Audiology, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, JohannesburgBackground: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on every South African but more specifically healthcare professionals, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa implemented a nationwide lockdown as confirmed cases continued to rise. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on SLPs has a three-fold purpose: to re-evaluate service provision, service delivery platforms and to identify the need for support to SLPs during a time of crisis. It is also crucial in guiding how policies and interventions need to be modified. Objectives: The study aimed to better understand how the workspace of SLPs in hospitals was impacted by COVID-19, how they experienced this process and the implications for them as healthcare professionals in both the private and public sector throughout South Africa. Methodology: An exploratory cross-sectional study design was used to meet the aims of the study. Thirty-nine SLPs from different provinces in South Africa, working in government and private hospitals during COVID-19, responded to the online survey. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. Results: SLPs’ roles, responsibilities and service delivery were impacted by COVID-19. It was necessary for typical outpatient therapy services to be modified; there were changes to the role of the SLP in the hospital and inpatient services were curtailed. Conclusion: This study provides insightful information to SLPs employed in hospitals to know that they are experiencing similar challenges. It also confirms the resilience of healthcare professionals, including SLPs, when faced with novel and unprecedented situations.https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/792covid-19coronavirus diseasehealthcare workersservice deliverysouth africaspeech-language pathologist.
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Skye N. Adams
Jaishika Seedat
Kim Coutts
Kelly-Ann Kater
spellingShingle Skye N. Adams
Jaishika Seedat
Kim Coutts
Kelly-Ann Kater
‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19
South African Journal of Communication Disorders
covid-19
coronavirus disease
healthcare workers
service delivery
south africa
speech-language pathologist.
author_facet Skye N. Adams
Jaishika Seedat
Kim Coutts
Kelly-Ann Kater
author_sort Skye N. Adams
title ‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19
title_short ‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19
title_full ‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19
title_fullStr ‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed ‘We are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in South African healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of COVID-19
title_sort ‘we are in this together’ voices of speech-language pathologists working in south african healthcare contexts during level 4 and level 5 lockdown of covid-19
publisher AOSIS
series South African Journal of Communication Disorders
issn 0379-8046
2225-4765
publishDate 2021-02-01
description Background: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on every South African but more specifically healthcare professionals, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa implemented a nationwide lockdown as confirmed cases continued to rise. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on SLPs has a three-fold purpose: to re-evaluate service provision, service delivery platforms and to identify the need for support to SLPs during a time of crisis. It is also crucial in guiding how policies and interventions need to be modified. Objectives: The study aimed to better understand how the workspace of SLPs in hospitals was impacted by COVID-19, how they experienced this process and the implications for them as healthcare professionals in both the private and public sector throughout South Africa. Methodology: An exploratory cross-sectional study design was used to meet the aims of the study. Thirty-nine SLPs from different provinces in South Africa, working in government and private hospitals during COVID-19, responded to the online survey. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. Results: SLPs’ roles, responsibilities and service delivery were impacted by COVID-19. It was necessary for typical outpatient therapy services to be modified; there were changes to the role of the SLP in the hospital and inpatient services were curtailed. Conclusion: This study provides insightful information to SLPs employed in hospitals to know that they are experiencing similar challenges. It also confirms the resilience of healthcare professionals, including SLPs, when faced with novel and unprecedented situations.
topic covid-19
coronavirus disease
healthcare workers
service delivery
south africa
speech-language pathologist.
url https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/792
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