Communication partner training for healthcare workers engaging with people with aphasia: Enacting Sustainable Development Goal 17 in Austria, Egypt, Greece, India and Serbia

Abstract

Purpose: This commentary describes how a grassroot-led partnership initiated by members of the organisations World Federation of NeuroRehabilitation and Collaboration of Aphasia Trialists is addressing the marginalisation of people with aphasia, through education and knowledge exchange related to communication partner training of health professionals.

Result: A partnership between academics and healthcare professionals across Austria, Denmark, Egypt, Ireland, Greece, India, Serbia and the United Kingdom was established in 2020. Through bimonthly online sessions in 2021-2022 a Danish communication partner training program was introduced while six teams adapted and translated the training and its materials to their local contexts.

Conclusion: A collaborative partnership enabled multiple translations of an existing communication partner training program for healthcare professionals working with people with aphasia to support a sustainable delivery model that is linguistic and culturally sensitive. This commentary paper focusses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 and also addresses SDG 10.

Keywords: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); aphasia; communication disability; communication partner training; intervention adaptation; partnerships for the goals (SDG 17); reduced inequalities (SDG 10).