“The most important thing is having patience, both of us.” Successful conversations from the perspective of people with aphasia and their primary conversation partners

Abstract

Purpose: Improving conversation between a person with aphasia (PWA) and their primary conversation partner (PCP) is a goal of aphasia therapy. However, there are few outcome measurements available that enable conversation success to be measured from the perspective of the target population. This study sought to define the construct of “conversation success” from the perspective of PWA and PCP in the development of a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) of dyadic conversation. Methods: PWA (n = 20) and their PCP (n = 19) participated in online focus groups using the nominal group technique. Participants responded to the question, “What makes your conversations successful with your communication partner?” and ranked the three most important items in terms of personal preference. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse priorities across groups. Results: In eight focus groups, 39 participants generated 190 items describing successful conversation. Five themes were identified: (1) working it out together, (2) having patience, (3) being familiar with your conversation partner, (4) considering the conversation environment, and (5) having a positive attitude and mindset. Conclusions: The participants conceptualised successful conversation in terms of behaviours, strategies, and feelings. These results will inform the development of a PROM for dyadic conversation in aphasia.