Communication Breakdown in Patients with Aphasia - A Bird View of Indian Context

Introduction: Aphasia is defined as a language disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain responsible for language processing. It occurs as a result of stroke or brain injury. The linguistic deficit in aphasia can lead to communication breakdown in caregiver-patient interactions. Aphasia caregivers face relationship conflict, social isolation, and despair due to communication breakdown. This study examines the extent of this breakdown. Method: Twelve caregivers of individuals with aphasia participated in the study. Six of these caregivers were caring for a person with broca’s aphasia, and four had been caring for someone with transcortical motor aphasia. A semi-structured interview questionnaire was developed based on three domains (Caregiver perspective - Speaker, Environmental, Caregiver perspective - Listener). Self-report questionnaires were provided. Carers were questioned in semi-structured interviews. Conversations were audio-recorded in order to be transcribed and analyzed. Results: Overall, activities in daily life were affected due to communication breakdown. Conversations involving personal life were the most affected. In the caregiver-speaker perspective domain, almost half of the caregivers faced problems in conversing in long and complex sentences with aphasic patients. Breakdown occurs most with unknown people. Clarity and slurred speech cause communication breakdown. Broca's aphasia caregivers experience more breakdown than those caring for individuals with transcortical motor aphasia. Conclusions: The results of the study indicated that communication problems are a major challenge for many caregivers, especially in conversations about personal life. At least a third of caregivers also struggle with communication in routine tasks. Key words: Communication breakdown, Caregiver perspective, Broca’s aphasia, Transcortical motor aphasia.