Background: Healthcare professionals are required to work effectively together to deliver the best healthcare services. Without awareness of other healthcare professionals’ roles and responsibilities, interprofessional practice (IPP) cannot be optimally achieved. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate healthcare professionals’ awareness of audiology and speech-language pathology (SLP) services in Saudi Arabia. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of two parts. The content of a 20-item paper questionnaire was firstly validated. The full-scale study addressed the aim through distributing questionnaire items among potential participants. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used. Results: A total of 403 participants completed the questionnaires for the main study. Most of the participants were Saudi citizens (84.1%), aged 18 years – 40 years (84.8%) years, and lived in Riyadh region (76.2%). Allied health professionals (40.2%), physicians (22.6%), nursing (15.4%) and dentistry (11.2%) were the main group of participants working mainly at governmental hospitals (69.2%). Of the total participants, 92.6% and 95.3% reported being fully aware of the services provided by audiologists and SLPs, respectively. No statistically significant association between the specialty of participants and their familiarity with the scope of practice for SLPs and audiologists was determined. Conclusion: Our study examined healthcare professionals’ awareness of audiology and SLP services and revealed a high level of awareness. Contribution: The existed level of awareness is expected to facilitate IPP and enhance the quality of care. Still, awareness campaigns about audiology and SLP services are needed to address the existing lack of knowledge among some healthcare professionals.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has exhibited potential in augmenting motor functions, neuroplasticity, and cognitive abilities within neurological rehabilitation contexts. Despite these promising outcomes, the utilization of tDCS in both research and clinical environments in Saudi Arabia remains relatively unexplored. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and motivations of rehabilitation specialists in Saudi Arabia concerning tDCS. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted through an online questionnaire, involving 112 registered rehabilitation professionals. Results: While 58% of respondents acknowledged tDCS as a therapeutic tool, the overall knowledge level was modest, with a mean score of 3.0 ± 2.7 out of 9. Enhanced levels of knowledge were associated with individuals holding doctoral degrees (p = 0.02) and those with international training exposure (p = 0.03). Despite the limited knowledge base, an overwhelming 94.64% of participants displayed a neutral to positive attitude towards tDCS, with 52.7% recognizing its potential efficacy in neurological recovery. Principal obstacles to implementation included safety-related concerns (21.4%) and the need for specialized training (23.3%). Conclusions: Rehabilitation specialists in Saudi Arabia generally hold a favorable view of tDCS and demonstrate an eagerness to pursue further training. The results underscore the imperative for enhanced educational initiatives and practical training to address knowledge deficiencies and facilitate the seamless integration of tDCS into clinical routines. The implementation of structured training programs could not only reinforce adoption rates but also optimize the role of tDCS within rehabilitation.

Purpose: Discourse analysis is an important component of aphasia assessment because it can provide insight into functional communication abilities of the participants. Understanding the essence of discourse becomes pivotal, as it is the most rudimentary way of communication in individuals’ daily routine. Hence, the present study aimed to explore the superiority of different discourse elicitation tasks in persons with fluent aphasia (PwFA). Methods: A total of six PwFA were recruited for the study. These participants were assessed for their discourse abilities using three tasks: picture description, conversation, and narration. The participants' discourse samples were analysed using the discourse analysis scale. In all these tasks, the propositional and non-propositional aspects of communication were evaluated. After recording the responses, the scores of each task (picture description, conversation, and narration) were consolidated to compute the discourse quotient. Results: Quantitative analysis revealed significant differences across general conversation compared to narration and picture description tasks. Out of these three tasks, general conversation is outperformed the other two tasks. Further, the individual case-wise analysis showed similar pattern of results. Conclusion: The findings of this study hold significant implications for both clinical practice and research. Understanding the potency and setbacks of different discourse genres aids speech language pathologist to analyse the discourse elicited from different genres using different cutoff values. Despite the positive findings of the current study the findings of the study should be interpreted meticulously due to the small sample size and the limited ecological validity of the study.

Objective: To translate the full version of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale into Arabic, assess its reliability and validity, and evaluate the listening ability scores of Arabic-speaking individuals with hearing impairments. Design: Cross-sectional study involving linguistic adaptation and psychometric evaluation of a self-reported hearing questionnaire. Setting: Conducted in audiology clinics and university research facilities, where participants were assessed and followed-up under standardized testing conditions. Participants: Two hundred twenty participants, including 110 with hearing loss and 110 age- and gender-matched individuals with normal hearing. All were native Arabic speakers. Intervention: Participants underwent audiological assessments and completed the translated full version of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale. A subset completed the questionnaire again after 3 months to assess test–retest reliability. Main measures: Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha, while test–retest reliability was assessed through the intraclass correlation coefficient comparing baseline and follow-up scores. Discriminant validity was established by comparing the scores of individuals with and without hearing loss, and the relationships between scale scores and the percentage of hearing loss were also examined. Results: The Arabic version demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.974). Test–retest reliability was confirmed with a high intraclass correlation coefficient (0.958; p < 0.001). The scale distinguished between participants with hearing loss and those with normal hearing (p < 0.001). Total scores showed significant negative correlations with hearing loss (r = 0.609; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Arabic full version of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing auditory perception, spatial hearing, and communication challenges among Arabic-speaking individuals with hearing impairments.

Recovery from aphasia is a complex process involving restoring language ability to a level comparable to an individual’s pre-aphasia state. This recovery extends beyond linguistic functions such as improved quality of life and functional communication. Understanding language recovery in PWAs is a key area in aphasia research. Thus, the current study aimed to understand the pattern of language recovery in the acute and sub-acute stages of persons with aphasia (PWAs). A total of 11 PWAs aged between 40 and 80 were recruited. The study was conducted in two phases. In the acute stage (within one week post-stroke), participants were assessed using the Western Aphasia Battery-Kannada (WAB-K). In the sub-acute stage (between seven and fifteen days post-stroke), a similar test battery was repeated. The findings of the study showed auditory verbal comprehension scores were pronounced in the acute and sub-acute stages of recovery. Further, language quotient (LQ) scores were higher in the sub-acute stage compared to the acute stage, though these differences failed to evince statistical differences. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive correlations between LQ and spontaneous speech, repetition, and naming, with moderate correlations for auditory verbal comprehension. The study’s findings highlight the importance of targeted therapeutic interventions for PWAs, emphasizing an early focus on auditory verbal comprehension to enhance overall language recovery.

Background: Speech-language pathology (SLP) and audiology services are essential components of multidisciplinary rehabilitation, particularly for individuals with developmental, neurological, and communication-related disorders. National-level data describing the distribution and utilization of these services in Saudi Arabia remain limited. This study aimed to examine national patterns of rehabilitation service utilization, with a focus on SLP and audiology services in comparison to other rehabilitation specialties. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using publicly available national open data released by the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH). Aggregated rehabilitation service encounters (n = 1,872,328 to 1,930,695) from 2023–2024 were analyzed by specialty, geographic region, sector (MOH clusters versus private sector), and pediatric age groups. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize utilization patterns and regional variation. Results: Rehabilitation services were widely delivered across both public and private sectors, with physiotherapy representing the largest share of encounters. SLP and audiology services contributed a smaller proportion of total rehabilitation encounters compared to other specialties. Service distribution varied regionally, with higher volumes concentrated in major urban areas including Riyadh, Makkah, and the Eastern Region. Pediatric service encounters were highest in early childhood (ages 3–7), with SLP and audiology services forming a consistent component of rehabilitation during this period. Conclusions: This study provides a descriptive overview of rehabilitation service utilization in Saudi Arabia, highlighting the distribution of SLP and audiology services relative to other specialties and across regions. Findings emphasize the importance of addressing regional variation, supporting workforce development, and enhancing national rehabilitation data systems to inform planning and ensure comprehensive access to communication and hearing services.