Monash expert: Hard to swallow - the need to improve dysphagia awareness

Monash University

A Monash University-led research review found that awareness of dysphagia, which can be linked to other medical conditions, was low and needs to improve. Read the full story on Monash Lens

Dysphagia encompasses swallowing disorders that impair our innate ability to swallow food, drinks, medicine, and saliva. Possible signs include:

Coughing, choking or frequent throat clearing during or after eating/drinking
Long meal time or eating slowly
Becoming short of breath when swallowing
Avoiding certain foods
Unplanned weight loss
Frequent chest infections without obvious reasons.

Available to comment:

Dr Debbie Pu, speech-language pathologist and Monash University School of Primary and Allied Health Care research fellow, who led the review
Contact: +61 3 9903 4840 or [email protected]
Read more of Dr Pu’s commentary on Monash Lens

Comments attributable to Dr Pu:

“Dysphagia rarely occurs by itself, and is usually the consequence of medical conditions that affect the brain (e.g. stroke, dementia) or the muscles and tissues of the head and neck (e.g. head and neck cancers). Unsurprisingly, most people are not aware of its existence until they or a loved one is affected. Unfortunately, this lack of awareness seems to also exist amongst health professionals who could be making timely referrals for the condition, as I recently found in a research review.

“Together with fellow speech pathology researchers from Stanford Healthcare and The University of Hong Kong, I reviewed studies that have examined this lack of awareness in people who could be affected by dysphagia: patients, their family and friends, health professionals, and people who work in food service. And things didn’t look good.

“If you or someone you know might be experiencing more than a few of the above, consider seeing a speech pathologist who can do a comprehensive assessment to see what the problem might be. The Speech Pathology Australia website has a handy tool to locate your nearest speech pathologist by specialty.”

Dr Pu is looking for adults with swallowing difficulties to take part in a research project. For more details email [email protected]
Anyone interested in completing Monash University’s new speech pathology course can find out more here

For more experts, news, opinion and analysis, visit Monash News.

For any other topics on which you may be seeking expert comment, contact the Monash University Media Unit on +61 3 9903 4840 or [email protected]