Which treatment outcomes are most important to aphasia clinicians and managers? An international e-Delphi consensus study

Background: Clinicians have expressed frustration at the lack of strong evidence for aphasia treatments. Inconsistent outcome measurement practices across treatment trials have negatively impacted the quality and strength of evidence for aphasia interventions. Core outcome sets (COSs; minimum sets of outcomes/outcome measures) are increasingly being used to maximise the quality, relevancy, transparency, and efficiency of health treatment research. The current study is the third in a trilogy of stakeholder perspectives to inform the development of a COS for aphasia treatment research.Aim: To identify essential aphasia treatment outcomes from the perspective of an international sample of clinicians and managers working in aphasia rehabilitation.Methods & Procedures: A three-round e-Delphi exercise was conducted with aphasia clinicians and managers. In total, 265 clinicians and 53 managers (n = 318) from 25 countries participated in round 1. In round 1, participants responded to the open-ended questi...