Habitus and the Person Living with Dysphagia - Integrating Personalized Care Into Home-Based Practice

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Carla Krishan A. Cuadro, MRS-SP, RSLP

Speech-language pathologist

PhD (cand.) Philippine Studies, specializing in Anthropology McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP) provider

Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LSVT®LOUD

certified clinician

Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA)

Professor Cuadro is a speech-language pathologist at St. Luke's Medical Center and an adjunct research assistant professor at the Institute on Aging, UP-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH).

She obtained her undergraduate and master's degrees in speech-language pathology from the University of the Philippines-Manila and is currently pursuing her dissertation towards a PhD in Philippine Studies, specializing in Anthropology, at the Tri-College, University of the Philippines-Diliman.

For the past 26 years, her clinical work has deepened her expertise in acute and chronic neurodegenerative language, speech, cognitive-communicatio voice, and swallowing disorders in adults and elderly individuals.

Driven by her commitment to studying and advocating for culturally informed rehabilitation and person-centered care, Professor Cuadro's work focuses on the biopsychosocial and cultural factors affecting aging Filipinos. Her research and clinical advocacy center on how older Filipinos experience and negotiate health changes while striving to preserve their personhood and identity, particularly among those on artificial tube feeding and those with advanced care preferences toward the end of life. She has presented her research in clinical and anthropological forums and has been a speaker at several scientific conferences.

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

The Filipino home environment plays a pivotal role in shaping the identity and behavior of individuals, particularly those living with dysphagia. This webinar will explore the concept of habitus-the ingrained habits, routines, and social practices that influence how a person engages with his/her world-and how it can be understood, taken into consideration, and harnessed to enable the person and family living with dysphagia to collaborate with the home visit clinician.

Participants will explore how a Filipino patient's habitus-shaped by their return to the familiar surroundings of home-impacts their engagement in therapeutic exercises, adherence to dietary modifications, and the value they place on their role in their healing. The webinar will provide acute care speech-language pathologists with critical insights and strategies for integrating personalized care approaches that align with the patients daily life, social context, and home environment.

Crucial dysphagia assessment and intervention concepts will be covered, including basic considerations in special populations, such as tracheostomy and dysphagia in dementia. Topics such as adapting swallowing exercises and interventions to fit the Filipino home setting, collaborating with family carers and caregivers, addressing resource limitations and patient compliance will be emphasized.