The Perceived Roles of Speech and Language Therapists in the Management of Cleft Lip And/Or Palate in Accra, Ghana.

Abstract

Background: Cleft lip and/or palate is a craniofacial abnormality, usually congenital, which occurs when the oral and nasal tissues do not merge during the development of the fetus. Research has shown that it has adverse effects on the child’s feeding, dentition, respiration, hearing which in turn, affects speech. For effective long term outcomes, research from developed countries show that cleft lip and/or palate management requires, a multidisciplinary approach involving plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, anesthetists, dentists, audiologists, dieticians, pediatricians and speech and language therapists amongst others. General Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of specialist healthcare professionals, involved in the management of cleft lip and/or palate in Accra-Ghana about the roles that speech and language therapists play within the multidisciplinary team. Methodology: The purposive sampling technique was used to obtain nine (9) participants for the study. The inclusion criteria for participants included being specialist healthcare professionals involved in the management of cleft lip and/or palate. All participants undertook a semi structured interview, using a topic guide. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Using thematic analysis, three (3) emergent themes, comprised of seven (7) sub-themes that addressed the research questions for the study were attained. The overarching themes were “knowledge for all through education”, “posting future clinicians”, “speech and language therapy as a profession and the roles of a speech and language therapist”. The findings and implications for the development of speech and language therapy as part of the multidisciplinary cleft lip and/or palate care in Accra, Ghana are discussed.