Expanding the clinical outcomes research by the use of novel discourse analysis methodologies and patient-reported outcome measures

While the aphasia literature documents treatment outcomes typically using standardized clinical tests, my research is focused on measuring the outcomes of clinical interventions by triangulation of findings from multiple measures such as patient-reports and novel discourse analysis methodologies.

Completed work:

Examine the role of hand gestures in studying the clinical outcomes for an individual with severe aphasia by developing a novel multimodal discourse analysis protocol

Funding:

Support for Faculty Scholars Award (SFSA), Western Michigan University ($2,000) (2018-2019). PI: Suma Devanga

Related Publications:

1. Devanga, S. R., Wilgenhof, R., & Mathew, M. Collaborative referencing using hand gestures in Wernicke’s aphasia: Discourse analysis of a case study. Aphasiology (E-publication ahead of print, June 2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2021.1937919

Work in progress:

Analyze the interactional displays of communication confidence in individuals with aphasia by situated discourse analysis and compare the findings with the patient-reports of perceived confidence.

Related Publications:

1. Devanga, S. R., & Hengst, J. A. (In preparation). Tracing communicative confidence in aphasia: Combining patient-reports and situated discourse analysis. Aphasiology.

Targeted Goal:

Examine the conversational outcomes of CRI by employing a novel conversational moves analysis

Funding:

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Advancing Academic Research Careers award (AARC) ($5000)