Telepractice among speech and language pathologists: a KAP study during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has required speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to use telepractice to deliver services. The present study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of SLPs relative to telepractice during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study was carried out during the coronavirus outbreak from July to December 2020. A valid and reliable self-administrated online questionnaire was sent to 600 SLPs who are members of the Iranian Speech Therapy Association. A total of 465 SLPs completed the questionnaire. SLPs who participated in the study had good attitudes toward telepractice (mean 3.99 ± 0.53 on a scale of 1–5). The mean of the knowledge score of the SLPs was 2.66 (±0.73), a value that is considered to be moderate. The mean for the practice score was 2.42 (±0.89), a score that is considered to be seldom to sometimes. Policymakers should take appropriate action in the field of effective telepractice for training SLPs especially during or prior to situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.