Use of protocols for quality of life in dysphagia: literature review

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to identify the use of protocols on quality of life (QoL) in dysphagia and verify their use in reahbilitation. A theoretical and exploratory research with the review of the literature technical, on the basis of SCOPUS data, Trip Database, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, Google Scholar, Capes journals and MedLine. The search time comprised the years between 2004 and 2014 and the following keywords were used: deglution; deglution disorders; quality of life; questionnaires. The protocols found in the literature was the Quality of life in Deglution Disorders-SWAL-QOL, which establishes the impairment of swallowing independent of the etiology; the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory, which is specific for subjects submitted treatment for head and neck cancer and the Dysphagia Handicap Index, which evaluates the effects of dysphagia on quality of life (QoL) in subjects with different pathologies and it can be used at lower levels of education.The literature proposes different protocols that assess QoL in dysphagia, the most used to assess QoL in general, related to head and neck cancer and subjects with different medical diagnoses . The use of these protocols can support and complement the clinical and objective evaluation of deglution since they portray the self-assessment by the subject, and this view is extremely important for speech and language therapy.

Keywords:
Deglution; Deglution Disorders; Quality of Life; Questionnaires