Self-Report and Caregiver Proxy-Report Agreement of Perceived Chronic Stress and Mutuality in Poststroke Aphasia.

Background People with aphasia (PWA) report higher levels of stress in comparison to stroke survivors without aphasia. If untreated, chronic stress is known to have detrimental effects to the body and brain and can negatively impact health and well-being. According to extant literature, self- and proxy-report agreement on objective domains is higher than on subjective domains, like chronic stress.

The Effects of Self-Esteem, Coping, and Voice-Related Quality of Life on Communicative Participation Before and After BOTOX® Treatment for Spasmodic Dysphonia.

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to (1) investigate the percent change in communicative participation in individuals with spasmodic dysphonia (SD) pre- and post-BOTOX® treatment; and (2) to investigate if percent change in communicative participation is predicted by change in self-esteem, coping, and/or Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) pre- and post-BOTOX® treatment.

Study Design/methods: A cross-sectional study of 49 patients was conducted across three clinics, with each participant completing the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Voice Disability Coping Questionnaire (VDCQ), the V-RQOL instrument, and the Communication Participation Item Bank (CPIB) before BOTOX® treatment and 10-14 days following BOTOX® treatment.

Data Analysis: For Research Question 1, a paired t test was applied to test the equality of means for CPIB and to test the pre-post changes among other composite measurements before and after the BOTOX® treatment.