Emerging professional practices focusing on reducing inequity in speech-language therapy and audiology: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Background: Human communication is essential for socialising, learning and working. Disabilities and social disadvantage have serious negative consequences on communication which can impact development from early life into adulthood. While speech-language therapists and audiologists (SLT/As) have an important role to play in addressing communication disability and disadvantage, services continue to be inaccessible, unaffordable and unattainable for the majority population. In order to support this large population, it is necessary to reimagine SLT/A practices in line with equity and social inclusion. Recently in the literature, there have been increasing calls for professions to reduce inequities in practice as indicated by the sustainable development goals, human rights and social inclusion approaches increasing in prominence. For the scoping review, equity is understood using the colonial matrix of power to understand how intersections of race, gender, class, disability, geography, heteronormativity and language create the context for inequity. As such, the aim of the scoping review is to address the following question: what are the emerging professional practices in SLT/A focused on reducing inequities? Methods: Following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, this scoping review will focus on systematically mapping the documented emerging clinical practices in SLT/A in the literature to identify how the professions are developing equitable practices. The search will include electronic databases and grey literature including PubMed, Scopus, EbscoHost, The Cochrane Library and Dissertation Abstracts International, Education Resource Information Centre from their inception onwards. Published and unpublished literature including all evidence sources will be considered. There should be a clear focus on clinical practice addressing equity in SLT/A. There will be no language limitations for the study. The authors will endeavour translate to have abstracts of articles translated. There will be no time restrictions on date of publication of the literature. Discussion: We aim to review the current literature on emerging professional practices in relation to equity in SLT/A to identify emerging trends in clinical practice. It is our goal to provide a synthesis of emerging directions for practice, particularly to inform future practices in the Global South. Systematic review registration: Open Science Framework (osf.io/3a29w).