Communication Related Quality of Life in Patients with Different Types of Aphasia Following a Stroke: Preliminary Insights

Abstract

It is well known that stroke and aphasia can seriously affect communication related quality of life (QoL). What has been less examined is whether communication QoL differs in relation to qualitatively different forms of aphasia. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate this possibility in four patients with aphasia caused by stroke: two with Broca’s and two with conduction aphasia. The quality of communication life scale (QCL) was administered in the chronic phase after stroke, alongside other aphasia assessments. All participants showed overall a relatively good Quality of Communication Life according to QCL. The patient with severe conduction aphasia demonstrated lower scores in all examined life domains compared to the patient with severe Broca’s aphasia suggesting that it might be worthwhile in future to investigate differential effects on QoL of different aphasia profiles.