CSD Student Spotlight

Corinne Balliette

Corinne Balliette, a distance student, investigated the readiness or willingness or providers, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and patients to participate in telepractice for speech-language therapy services in rural areas of Nevada. Nevada has not ranked high in healthcare for several years and was noted to have low SLP to patient ratios, especially in rural areas.

Nevada does not have current research on the readiness of medical professionals to participate in telepractice in rural areas of the state. Therefore, corinne developed a survey to ask providers and patients for their opinions about participating in telepractice.

Specific questions related to voice and swallowing disorders were addressed. A positive response rate to engaging in telepractice was noted among 40% of participating patients and providers. Though the participant sample size was small, there is still some indication that telepractice could be used to address the needs of patients who need speech-language therapy services in rural areas of Nevada.