Numerous nursing home residents experience difficulties in communication or swallowing, which have occurred due to various health issues such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, dementia, hearing impairment, and head and neck cancer. With ageing, the human body undergoes several changes which affect communication, namely muscle atrophy, reduced organ systems functions and nervous system changes. Nursing home personnel consists of nurses, care assistants, social workers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. General physical well-being, good social interaction and positive self-image are some of the factors contributing to a person’s quality of life; what may further impair their quality of life is them being unable to express their needs and wishes, communicate with their relatives and feed themself appropriately and safely. Speech and language therapists are experts who attempt to restore a person’s functional communication and safe swallowing. In various countries around the globe, their importance in elderly care has already been recognised, which can be observed in speech and language therapists being employed in nursing homes. The role of speech and language therapist in palliative care team is also beginning to be recognized as important. Despite the increasing number of the elderly in Slovenia, the research done in this domain is still insufficient. The intention of the thesis’ research was to ascertain whether a speech and language therapist could contribute to a better quality of life of nursing home residents and determine their role in this setting. Seven semi-structured interviews with chief nursing officers and nurses have been conducted in five different nursing homes. The results have indicated that a lot of nursing home residents face difficulties in communication, swallowing and hearing; their consequences exert an impact on all dimensions of quality of life, especially psychological well-being, independence and social interaction. All the interviewed nursing homes employees support the idea of a speech and language therapist being employed in nursing homes and six out of seven of them have stated that a speech and language therapist in their facility is solicited since, with the knowledge they possess, they could improve residents' quality of life and offer support and guidance to other employees and residents' relatives. According to the interviewed employees, the most crucial rule attributed to speech and language therapists in nursing homes would be aiding the elderly with speech and communication difficulties.
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