- Title
- Recognising and responding to communication and swallowing difficulties in Parkinson’s disease
- Creator
- Ireland, Sally; Carroll, Vincent; Blanchard, Denise; Rossiter, Rachel
- Relation
- Australian Journal of General Practice Vol. 51, Issue 4, p. 239-244
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-07-21-6094
- Publisher
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2022
- Description
- Background: Communication difficulties, including hypokinetic dysarthria and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia), affect a large percentage of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Onset of these symptoms has been identified in up to 78% of people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease. Communication difficulties are frequently disregarded until they have a significant impact on quality of life, while the person may often be unaware of indicators of dysphagia and the associated risk of aspiration pneumonia. Objective: The aim of this article is to increase awareness of the importance of identifying and addressing the communication and swallowing difficulties experienced by people living with Parkinson’s disease. Discussion:Early identification, regular review and monitoring enable the clinician to support the implementation of evidence-based, effective interventions. Collaboration with the multidisciplinary team, including speech pathology, is needed to enable the person to live well with Parkinson’s disease and to prevent aspiration pneumonia, a leading cause of death in Parkinson’s disease. A vignette prepared in collaboration with a person living with Parkinson’s disease and his wife provides an ‘insider perspective’ of the pervasive impact of difficulties with communication and swallowing.
- Subject
- communication; Parkinson's disease; swallowing; effective interventions; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1487486
- Identifier
- uon:52156
- Identifier
- ISSN:2208-794X
- Language
- eng
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