Does Race/Ethnicity Really Matter in Adult Neurogenics?

Abstract

Purpose Recent evidence suggests that race/ethnicity is a variable that is critical to outcomes in neurological disorders. The purpose of this article was to examine the proportion of studies published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ( AJSLP ) and the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research ( JSLHR ) that were designed to examine neurologically based disorders of communication in adults and that reported the race/ethnicity of the participants. Method A review of articles in AJSLP and JSLHR from 1997 through 2007 was completed to determine what proportion of articles in the area of adult neurogenic communication disorders reported the race/ethnicity of the participants. Results Between 1997 and 2007, less than 15% of the 116 articles published in the 2 journals reported the race/ethnicity of the participants. The review of studies indicates that the reporting of the race/ethnicity of participants in studies of adult neurogenic communication disorders remains inconsistent. Conclusions Because few studies report race/ethnicity or consider how race/ethnicity has the potential to confound the results and conclusions drawn, the generalization of the reported findings may be limited. Reporting race/ethnicity is likely critical to the external validity of studies in adult neurogenic communication disorders and when available can enhance the relevance of the findings reported.