Aphasia Knowledge and Awareness in Bartenders and Servers

Thursday, 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Seabright
Poster 2
This study aimed to answer the following questions: #1: Will aphasia training increase bartenders'/servers' awareness and knowledge of aphasia? #2: Will aphasia training improve bartenders'/servers' comfort and confidence levels with regard to interacting with guests who have aphasia? #3: Will aphasia training improve bartenders'/servers' confidence levels with regard to their ability to recognize guests who have aphasia? After increasing aphasia awareness in this study's population, bartenders/servers learned strategies to enhance interactions with guests who have aphasia. The methodology of this study followed a mixed design with no control group that compared the performance of bartenders/servers on a pre-test and post-test after training. The training utilized an informational aphasia video and an aphasia training PowerPoint. Results indicated that the brief aphasia training program provided the following to bartenders and servers: increased awareness of aphasia, increased knowledge of aphasia, and improved confidence levels with regard to recognizing a guest with aphasia. The training did not improve the bartenders' and servers' comfort and confidence levels with regard to interacting with guests who have aphasia. This indicates that a more intense training program may benefit future participants.
Track: 
Adult