Understanding the impact of group therapy on health-related quality of life of people with Aphasia: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Aphasia is a communication disorder, resulting in difficulty with speaking, understanding, reading, and writing. Aphasia has been linked to decreased social networks, depression, and low health-related quality of life (HRQL). Speech-language pathologists provide therapy through various models for adults with aphasia, including group speech and language therapy. This scoping review aimed to identify, summarize, and appraise peer-reviewed texts that consider HRQL in adults with aphasia who are receiving group speech and language therapy. The research questions that guided the review were: What measures were used to capture HRQL outcomes? Does HRQL change as a result of participation in group language treatment? A systematic literature search developed and implemented by a health sciences librarian identified full-text journal articles via electronic searches of five databases. To be included, studies had to explore adults with aphasia, participating in group language therapy, with a HRQL outcome measure. Relevant studies were assessed for methodological quality and level of evidence. Thirteen articles met inclusion criteria, including two randomized control trials, eight case studies, and three qualitative studies. HRQL measures used and type of intervention varied across studies. HRQL measures showed generally positive outcomes of group language therapy, and participants reported improved HRQL after group language therapy. The current evidence is not comprehensive due to the overall lack of high-quality studies and the low level of evidence available. Further well-designed studies would benefit our understanding of how group therapy may improve HRQL for adults with aphasia.