Comunicação alternativa em pacientes com vulnerabilidade comunicativa

Abstract

Introduction: Communication is essential to human life and, especially in health care and promotion spaces, it helps in the patient's well-being process, in the perception of health and in the safety and quality of life. In hospitals, it is common to find people in communicative vulnerability, either permanently or temporarily. In these situations, the use of Supplementary and Alternative Communication (CSA) contributes to the health-disease process. There is no record in the literature or finding in document analysis that points to the implementation of AAC in hospitals in the Seridó Potiguar region prior to the initiative object of this work. Objective: To report the experience of speech therapy intervention for the implementation of AAC performed in a regional hospital in northeastern Brazil, aiming to reduce communication barriers in the care of hospitalized patients with transient or permanent communicative vulnerability. Methodology: This is a descriptive, qualitative study, of the type of experience report about an intervention carried out for the application of AAC in the hospital through professional training. Results and discussion: This intervention sought to improve health care and apply the principles of the Unified Health System (SUS) of integrality, universality and equity. There was effective participation of professionals in training on the use of CSA, resulting in the implementation of printed CSA boards through the delivery of the Standard Operating Procedure (product of this intervention). Conclusion: It reveals the importance of the presence of a speech therapist in the health services for the application of strategies that facilitate communication in cases where the oral route is impossible, aiming at improving the quality of life and well-being of the patient. In addition, it is expected that this work will serve as an example and basis for new actions, including in the municipality where this hospital is located.