Whose Service Is It Anyway? Patients as Co-Designers to Improve Dysphagia Care Pathways

Abstract

Purpose The field of speech-language pathology has made remarkable strides to improve the evidence-based management of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Dysphagia services have evolved in response to the ever-increasing evidence base for the role of the speech-language pathology in the assessment, diagnosis, and management of oropharyngeal dysphagia. However, dysphagia service pathway design and provision are driven by service capacity or national guidance. Rarely are patients and clinicians truly working together to develop or redesign dysphagia care pathways. This article will describe Experience Based Co-Design and how the methodology has contributed to a better understanding of pretreatment service provision at our center. Conclusion We make recommendations for clinicians on the application of this methodology in future projects for the design and redesign of speech-language pathology dysphagia services.