DePaul Hospital Swallow Screener: A Tool to Evaluate Dysphagia in Stroke Patients

Date of Recording: August 2018

Early detection of dysphagia and risk of aspiration are critical to reducing complications of aspiration in patients diagnosed with stroke. The goal of this study was to evaluate the validity and specificity of the DePaul Hospital Swallow Screener (DHSS) in patients with a diagnosis of stroke, for use by nurses, prior to first evaluation by a speech-language pathologist (SLP).

Learning Objectives: 

• Discuss the importance of using subject matter experts to calculate the content validity index in establishing a valid tool.
• Discuss the importance of utilizing a nursing swallow screening in patients with stroke-like symptoms prior to any oral intake.
• Identify the importance of using a combination of non-swallow and swallow items in a dysphagia screener.

Presenter Information: 

Amy Mosier - Amy earned her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and her master’s degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Amy currently works for SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and serves as regional speech therapy manager across five acute care hospitals and three acute rehabilitation hospitals. She has varied clinical experience in pediatrics, geriatrics, and adults, primarily with focuses on neurorehabilitation, brain injury, and acute care.

Dana L. Read - Dana graduated with a bachelor’s of arts degree in speech and hearing sciences from Indiana University, and received a master’s of science degree in speech pathology from Illinois State University. Dana has 19 years’ experience in the evaluation and treatment of swallowing disorders. She also serves in a leadership role supporting professional development in dysphagia management. Currently, Dana is the director of therapy services supervisor for SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.