Individual factors
Results suggest that younger individuals were more likely to be offered oral trials, although when controlling for neurological diagnosis, age was no longer a significant predictor of treatment group. Individuals with a neurological diagnosis were significantly younger than other groups. Early dysphagia input may be particularly beneficial for younger, previously independent individuals due to increased responsiveness to neural plasticity 18,19.
The oral intake group also included significantly fewer individuals with a dementia diagnosis. Non-oral feeding for individuals with dementia is a complex issue and there may be established ceilings of care for this population 21. This may contribute to readiness for SLTs to consider oral trials which require non-oral feeding. Furthermore, the cognitive capacity of patients was found to be a key indicator for treatment decisions in dysphagia management12, therefore certain dysphagia approaches may not be considered for this group. It is important for dysphagia therapy to take a holistic approach, by recognising the limitations, premorbid factors, attitudes and support systems for the individual 22and it is likely that a range of individual factors are considered in clinical decision-making around oral trials.