新型コロナウイルス感染患者受け入れ施設に勤務する言語聴覚士の業務実態調査

Practice patterns of Japanese speech-language-hearing therapists in hospitals treating patients with COVID-19: Results of a fact-finding survey

　当院リハビリテーション部言語聴覚療法部門では，2020年4月より，新型コロナウイルス感染症(COVID-19)患者受け入れ施設に勤務する言語聴覚士(ST)のための登録制オンライン掲示板を運営してきた．今回，掲示版利用者を対象に，第1波・第3波各流行期における一般患者およびCOVID-19患者に対する言語聴覚療法の実施状況についてアンケート調査を行った．第1波・第3波流行期のいずれにおいても，全回答者25名のうち5名がCOVID-19患者に対して汚染区域内で療法を行っていた．20名は様々な理由により汚染区域で療法を実施していなかったが，主に所属施設・部門が実施を制限していることが背景にあった．一方，COVID-19病床内の清潔区域から評価・指導や関連職種への助言などを行うSTもあった．今後，より均質かつ大きな母集団を対象に，本邦のCOVID-19患者に対する言語聴覚療法の実態調査が望まれる．

　The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the clinical practice of speech-language-hearing therapists (SLHTs) in Japan. Treating COVID-19 patients at an acute-care teaching hospital in Tokyo, we launched an exclusive online community in April 2020 to connect SLHTs who worked at hospitals that treated COVID-19 patients. The community members shared their experiences in delivering speech-language and swallowing rehabilitation to non-COVID and COVID-19 patients through the community's online bulletin board and online meeting events. We distributed an anonymous online survey to the 60 eligible members of the community. The survey included questions on speech-language and swallowing therapy delivery to non-COVID-19 patients and COVID-19 patients. We received 25 responses. Of those, five respondents had provided speech-language and/or swallowing therapies in isolation units during the first and third spikes of the outbreak. Twenty respondents had not treated COVID-19 positive patients mainly due to limited referrals. Some SLHTs had provided their therapies remotely from the non-isolated areas of the COVID-19 wards. Future investigations on a larger group of SLHTs are warranted to generalize the findings of this survey.