Table 5.

Full list of all studies and extraction data elements.

Author(s), year, country	Title	Intervention/accommodation	CD-related condition	Setting	Health care workers	No. of participants	Type of evidence and study design	Outcomes
Communication strategies
Armour et al., 2021, Australia	Supported Communication Video Training for the Nursing Department in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital	Training for Supported Conversation for Aphasia (SCA) as a part of health care organizational training. SCA involved teaching health care providers how to interact with persons with aphasia.	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Inpatient rehabilitation provider training	Nurses and nursing assistants	2–50	Effectiveness, quasi-experimental	Positive, significant pre- to posttraining provider improvement on the Test of Knowledge of Aphasia by providers
Cameron et al., 2017, Australia	A Pre–Post Intervention Study Investigating the Confidence and Knowledge of Health Professionals Communicating With People With Aphasia in a Metropolitan Hospital	Communication partner training (CPT), which provides strategies to both persons with aphasia and their communication partners to support effective communication exchange	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Acute care	Allied health assistants; audiologists; case manager/social workers; dieticians; nurses; nursing assistants; OTs; pharmacists/allied health; PTs; audiology	51–100	Efficacy, quasi-experimental	Positive, significant improvement on mean provider confidence levels and identifying number of communication strategies used by providers. Measurement questionnaire was made by an investigator to assess confidence and knowledge of aphasia.
Hand et al., 2021, US	“They Looked at Me as a Person, Not Just a Diagnosis”: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Parent Satisfaction With a Specialized Primary Care Clinic for Autistic Adults	Use of written communication and visual prompts by providers in an autism specialty clinic	Intellectual and developmental disability/Autism	Primary care (autism specialty clinic)	Nurses; medical assistants; physicians/advanced practice providers	2–50	Service evaluation; descriptive	Qualitative, use of communication strategies like written communication helped to improve patient–provider communication
Hansen et al., 2022, Denmark	‘They Get the Opportunity to Say What Is Important for Them’: Exploring Staff's Early Perceptions of the Implementation of a New Communicative Approach to Patients With Aphasia	Training on and use of the KomHIT program and SCA. KomHIT included bot training providers on communication strategies and AAC pictures and easy-to-read texts.	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Inpatient rehabilitation	Nurses; nursing assistants; SLPs, OTs; PTs	2–50	Hybrid, descriptive	The qualitative, 6 months after training and use, program enhanced the involvement of patients with aphasia in their rehabilitation, and health care workers had an increased focus on communication. Barriers included time and goal setting.
Heard et al., 2017, Australia	Communication Partner Training for Health Care Professionals in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Setting: A Parallel Randomised Trial	E-Learning Plus (online communication partner training) compared with SCA	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Inpatient rehabilitation	Nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers; SLPs; OTs; PTs	51–100	Efficacy, randomized controlled trial	Positive, both programs had significant improvement in self-rating of provider confidence on a Likert scale created by investigators.
Horton, Clark, et al., 2016, UK	Methodological Issues in the Design and Evaluation of Supported Communication for Aphasia Training: A Cluster-Controlled Feasibility Study	Training on use of SCA	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Inpatient rehabilitation	Allied health assistants; nurses; SLPs; OTs; PTs	51–100	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Neutral, insignificant differences on the patient measure Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale and the Communicative Access Measures for Stroke. Training cost per participant was estimated at £827. Small numbers limited the ability to obtain quality-adjusted life years.
Horton, Lane, & Shiggins, 2016, UK	Supporting Communication for People With Aphasia in Stroke Rehabilitation: Transfer of Training in a Multidisciplinary Stroke Team	Training on SCA	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Inpatient rehabilitation	Allied health assistants; nurses; SLPs; OTs; PTs; administrative staff	2–50	Implementation study of the context; descriptive	Qualitative, more fruitful staff–patient interactions. Severity of aphasia, cognitive impairments, and time constraints were barriers to implementing.
Jensen et al., 2015, Denmark	Implementation of Supported Conversation for Communication Between Nursing Staff and In-Hospital Patients With Aphasia	SCA use through champions, training with role play and group discussions, tools to support communication dialogue notebooks at bedside, delegation of responsibilities to staff	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Acute	Nurses, nurses' assistants; SLPs	2–50	Hybrid study; quasi-experimental	Positive; significant improvement by nurses as measured by the Knowledge of Aphasia Questionnaire. Communication seemed less frustrating for the patient. Higher frequencies of drawing, writing down words and use techniques. Qualitative, shortage of time, patient characteristics (e.g., patients being ill, not alert enough), other nursing demands like attending to more critically ill patients were barriers.
Kagan et al., 2024, Canada	Improving Communicative Access and Patient Experience in Acute Stroke Care: An Implementation Journey	Patient–provider communication programs	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Acute	Case manager/social workers; nurses; SLPs; OTs; pharmacists; PTs; other: recreation therapist, clinical team managers	2–50	Service evaluation; descriptive	Qualitative, key factors in sustaining change were motivation at an individual and organizational level, relational principles, adjustments related to capacity, resource support, buy-in from leadership, and staff at multiple levels.
Kistler et al., 2021, US	Evaluation of a Training Toolkit to Improve Clinicians' Skills for Dementia Advance Care Planning	Training toolkit for primary care clinicians aimed at improving patient/family–provider communication	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Primary care	Case manager/social workers; nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers	51–100	Implementation study; quasi-experimental	Positive, staff confidence significantly increased in determining capacity using the toolkit, as measured on an investigator-created survey based on advanced care planning communication training. Training increased documentation goals of care and decision-making discussions.
Murray et al., 2019, Australia	Impact of the Dementia Care in Hospitals Program on Acute Hospital Staff Satisfaction	Dementia Care in Hospitals Program Educational program designed to improve communication with patients with cognitive impairment. The program included systematic identification, use of an identifier above the patient's bedside to alert staff, and employment of a set of nine key communication strategies by all staff.	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Acute care	Allied health assistants; medical office staff; nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers; SLPs; OTs; PTs; nonclinical staff	> 100	Implementation; quasi-experimental	Positive; significant increase in provider confidence, comfort, and job satisfaction on an investigator-created survey developed with the Australian Institute for Primary Care, lit review, experts. Positive; staff perceived level of organizational support for caring for patients with cognitive impairment, assessed on the same survey were significantly improved.
Simmons-Mackie et al., 2007, Canada	Communicative Access and Decision Making for People With Aphasia: Implementing Sustainable Healthcare Systems Change	Use of SCA, translation of health materials into aphasia-friendly health materials, training, ward staff meeting, selection of facility-specific goals, and on-site support from SLP	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Multiple (acute care, rehab, long-term care)	Case manager/social workers; nurses; SLPs; OTs; PTs; social workers, community resource worker, allied health, nonclinical staff	2–50	Implementation, descriptive	Qualitative, increased knowledge of methods of supporting communicative access
Augmentative and alternative communication aids
Babbage et al., 2024, New Zealand	Inpatient Trial of a Tablet App for Communicating Brain Injury Rehabilitation Goals	Tablet app for communicating brain injury rehabilitation goals	Traumatic brain injury	Inpatient rehab	SLPs; OTs; PTs	2–50	Hybrid, descriptive	Frequency of video plays/engagement with videos by patients. Frequency of clinician updates on the app.
Berning et al., 2016, US	A Novel Picture Guide to Improve Spiritual Care and Reduce Anxiety in Mechanically Ventilated Adults in the Intensive Care Unit	Chaplain-led, picture-guided spiritual care	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	Spiritual care in the intensive care unit (ICU)	Chaplains/(allied health)	2–50	Effectiveness, descriptive	Positive, 100% of patients identified a spiritual affiliation, 47 (94%) identified one or more emotions, 45 (90%) rated their spiritual pain, and 36 (72%) selected a chaplain intervention. Time to complete consultation was 18 min.
Francis et al., 2021, Australia	The Use and Impact of a Supported Aphasia-Friendly Photo Menu Tool on iPads in the Inpatient Hospital Setting: A Pilot Study	Use of iPad containing picture menus	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Acute care, meal ordering	SLPAs	2–50	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Neutral, no significant improvement in calories ordered and consumed by patients. But improvements in ease of and involvement with meal ordering. Time spent ordering the meal was 13.74 min with the AAC method vs. 9.29 with the usual menu.
Gropp et al., 2019, South Africa	Nurses' Perspectives About Communication With Patients in an Intensive Care Setting Using a Communication Board: A Pilot Study	Vidatak EZ Board with basic need pictures (1-hr training provided on use of the board)	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses	2–50	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Positive, increased use of communication boards by providers. However, this increase was not sustained 2 weeks after training.
Handberg & Voss, 2018, Denmark	Implementing Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Critical Care Settings: Perspectives of Healthcare Professionals	Multiple AAC devices: (a) iPad app: GoTalkNow; (b) Windows app: On Screen Communicator; (c) letter board; (d) eye-tracking board; (e) pain scale; (f) auditive partner-assisted board; (g) eye-tracking letter board	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses; OTs; PTs	2–50	Service evaluation, descriptive	Qualitative, professionals highly motivated and endorsed that AAC could help and save them time
Happ et al., 2004, US	Electronic Voice-Output Communication Aids for Temporarily Nonspeaking Patients in a Medical Intensive Care Unit: A Feasibility Study	Voice output communication aids (VOCAs)	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses; allied health (respiratory therapist)	2–50	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Positive, patients who used the device reported significantly less difficulty with communication after device use as measured on the Ease of Communication Scale. Qualitative, contextual barriers were device positioning, fluctuation in patient cognitive and motor status, staff time constraints, staff lack of familiarity with the device, and device complexity.
Hurtig et al., 2019, US	Improving Patient Safety and Patient–Provider Communication	Voxello noddle switch and noddle chat tablet	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses	> 100	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Positive, significant difference between the noddle and no-access patient groups related to ease of summoning help and communicating effectively as measured on investigator created survey. Positive perceptions of patient's ability to summon nurses and communicate effectively by nurses.
Koszalinski et al., 2020, Scotland	The Use of Communication Technology to Affect Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit	Speak for Myself-Voice Tablet (SFM-V)	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses		Effectiveness, quasi-experimental	Positive, statistically reduced patient-reported symptoms of depression and reduction of anxiety on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. SFM-V was not effective for some patients in ICU (e.g., difficulty manipulation tablet, patients with aphasia).
Kuo et al., 2023, Taiwan	The Usability of an AAC Pain Description System for Patients With Acquired Expressive Communication Disorders	AAC Pain Description System on a Mobile App	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Acute care, post neurosurgical ward	Nurses	2–50	Effectiveness, quasi-experimental	Positive, patients were satisfied with the app using investigator created survey on usability and satisfaction with the PainDiary app. Time to collect headache pain was less using the PainDiary app.
Maringelli et al., 2013, Italy	Gaze-Controlled, Computer-Assisted Communication in Intensive Care Unit: “Speaking Through the Eyes”	Eye gaze communication system	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers	2–50	Effectiveness, quasi-experimental design	Positive, patients adapted to gaze-controlled communication system within 15 min. Positive, improvement in Likert scale responses to ability to understand patient, decide on therapy, communicate with patient's family on investigator developed survey for patients.
Muthuswamy et al., 2014, UK	Utility of Optical Facial Feature and Arm Movement Tracking Systems to Enable Text Communication in Critically Ill Patients Who Cannot Otherwise Communicate	Movement tracking system (facial feature tracking and arm movement)	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	None	2–50	Efficacy, quasi-experimental	Positive, average speed of sentence formation was 81 s (range: 58–120) and 104 s (range: 60–160) for facial feature and arm tracking systems, respectively (p < .001, 2-tailed independent-samples t test)
Rodriguez et al., 2012, US	Development of a Communication Intervention to Assist Hospitalized Suddenly Speechless Patients	Programmable speech-generating device	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	Multiple (ICU and acute)	Ward clerks	2–50	Hybrid; descriptive	Positive, 95% of messages were understood by ward clerks on usability of Communication Intervention/Accommodation Form. Device was accessible to the participants within arm's reach 52% of the time.
Customized plans—created by provider
D'Souza, Godecke, et al., 2022, Australia	Investigation of the Implementation of a Communication Enhanced Environment Model on an Acute/Slow Stream Rehabilitation and a Rehabilitation Ward: A Before-and-After Pilot Study	Communication enhanced environment model: SLP assessed and recommended accommodations for each patient, training on use of communication partner strategies, posters specifying individualized communication strategies, “communication support packs” of aids (e.g., whiteboards, AAC aids)	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Multiple (acute care and inpatient rehabilitation)	Nurses; SLPs; allied health, nonclinical staff	2–50	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Neutral, no significant difference in language activity level by patients. Fidelity and feasibility of the intervention—71% of the model was available to the intervention group.
D'Souza, Ciccone, et al., 2022, Australia	Staff and Volunteers' Perceptions of a Communication Enhanced Environment Model in an Acute/Slow Stream Rehabilitation and a Rehabilitation Hospital Ward: A Qualitative Description Study Within a Before-and-After Pilot Study	Communication enhanced environment model as above	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Multiple (acute care and Inpatient rehabilitation)	Case manager/social workers; nurses; SLPs; OTAs; PTs; volunteers	2–50	Hybrid, descriptive	Qualitative, factors that impacted implementation were multilevel at the hospital, staff, and patient.
Happ et al., 2010, US	SPEACS-2: Intensive Care Unit “Communication Rounds” With Speech Language Pathology	Individualized communication plan created by SLPs, inclusive of low- and high-tech AAC, provider-led communication strategies. Communication resource nurses served as champions on each unit. Teaching posters on the “Communication Strategy of the Week.” A communication cart of tools. An SLP led a weekly communication case conference to dissemination patients' communication strategies with staff.	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses	1	Case report	n/a
Happ et al., 2014, US	Effect of a Multi-Level Intervention on Nurse–Patient Communication in the Intensive Care Unit: Results of the SPEACS Trial	Individually tailored plans created by SLPs that specified type of AAC devices and communication strategies. Communication cart of tools. SLP leads a weekly communication case conference.	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses	51–100	Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Positive, patient communication frequency (mean number of communication acts within a communication exchange) and patient-centered nurse communication behaviors increased significantly in one ICU.
Maxwell et al., 2021, Ireland	Using a Multidisciplinary Approach to Reveal Decision-Making Capacity Within Acute Care for an Individual With Aphasia	SLP designed communication strategies and use of an adapted version of a capacity evaluation (CACE) to assess decision-making for a patient with aphasia.	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Acute care	Nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers; SLPs; OTs	1	Case report	n/a
Radtke et al., 2011, US	Listening to the Voiceless Patient: Case Reports in Assisted Communication in the Intensive Care Unit	SLPs created a list of appropriate accommodations for nursing staff and family to follow. Accommodations were a combination of low tech, high tech AAC, and partner-led communication strategies.	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses, SLP	1	Case report	n/a
Trotta et al., 2020, US	Improving Nonvocal Critical Care Patients' Ease of Communication Using a Modified SPEACS-2 Program	Nurse assessment of needed accommodations with SLP consultation as needed. Plans composed of low-tech and high-tech AAC. Implementation strategies: Decision-making algorithm for nurses, training, pocket reference guides, instructional manual, aids in a “communication cart”	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	ICU	Nurses	> 100	Hybrid; nonrandomized, quasi-experimental	Positive, patient's Ease of Communication Scale scores improved significantly. Nurses' use of communication techniques and compliance with communication plans of care increased after training Frequency of documentation of communication techniques improved post intervention.
Customized plans—created by patient
Grant et al., 2024, UK	“I Am Afraid of Being Treated Badly If I Show It”: A Cross-Sectional Study of Healthcare Accessibility and Autism Health Passports Among UK Autistic Adults	Autism Health Passports: a range of communication tools that aim to provide information about health care needs in a standardized way.	Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Autism	Any	N/A	≥ 100	Service evaluation, descriptive	Descriptive, 1.5% of respondents with autism used a health passport at least half the time on investigator created survey. Qualitative. Passports sound good in theory, but the barrier is that they are not well integrated into health care delivery.
Heifetz & Lunsky, 2018, Canada	Implementation and Evaluation of Health Passport Communication Tools in Emergency Departments	Health passport communication tools providing information about the individual, their likes and dislikes, how the individual communicates (e.g., verbal/nonverbal, communication device use), medical history, current medication, supports needed	Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Autism	Multiple (acute care, outpatient primary and specialty clinics)	Nurses, hospital clinical staff, community health and IDD service providers	0–50	Hybrid, descriptive	Qualitative, The tool makes the patient more comfortable. Implementation factors were time needed to engage, the tool was not consistently used, low awareness of the tool.
Kang et al., 2022, Australia	A Trial of the AASPIRE Healthcare Toolkit With Australian Adults on the Autism Spectrum	Online health care toolkit AASPIRE includes basic health information, rights, diagnosis, and accommodation needs.	Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Autism	Primary care	Physicians, allied health (psychologist, psychiatrist, dieticians)	0–50	Implementation – context evaluation, descriptive	Qualitative. The toolkit provided structure to appointments, supplemented new knowledge, and increased confidence; however, it was lengthy. Best for new visits.
Nicolaidis et al., 2016, US	The Development and Evaluation of an Online Healthcare Toolkit for Autistic Adults and Their Primary Care Providers	AASPIRE Healthcare toolkit including the Autism Healthcare Accommodations Tool (AHAT)—patients to create a personalized accommodations report to bring to appointment	Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Autism	Primary care	Physicians/advanced practice providers	≥ 100	Effectiveness, quasi-experimental	Positive. Health care self-efficacy increased, and satisfaction with communication improved on investigator-created survey. Qualitative. Toolkit helped clarify patient needs, enabled them to self-advocate. Providers found the tool useful.
Parke et al., 2019, Canada	Know Me—A New Person-Centered Approach for Dementia-Friendly Emergency Department Care	Hospital readiness tools that described the patient's health and communication needs	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Emergency department	n/a	0–50	Efficacy, descriptive	Qualitative, caregivers perceived that the tool could decrease responsive behaviors in the ED, skepticism that the tool would be used by ED nurses
Turk et al., 2010, UK	An Evaluation of the Implementation of Hand Held Health Records With Adults With Learning Disabilities: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial	Handheld health record: a 50-page binder containing patient's individualized health information including communication needs	Intellectual and developmental disabilities and Autism	Primary care	Physicians/advanced practice providers	≥ 100	Hybrid; randomized controlled trial	Neutral. Slightly greater but not significant increase in attendance at primary care visit as compared with control. 63% of patients with IDD & 55% of carers adopted the handheld record.
Learning disability nurse
M. Brown et al., 2012, Scotland	Learning Disability Liaison Nursing Services in South-East Scotland: A Mixed-Methods Impact and Outcome Study	Description of Learning Disability Liaison Nursing (LDLN) service	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers	51–100	Service evaluation; descriptive	Descriptive, 30% of patients received nursing service of “communication advice” Proportion of referrals by clinical area were provided Qualitative, LDLN helped with coordinating care, promoting successful communication. Variation by region in types of providers referring to LDLN, type of hospital admission, reasons for referral
Clarke et al., 2023, UK	Person-Centred Critical Care for a Person With Learning Disability and COVID-19: Case Study of Positive Risk Taking	Description of LDLN	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Dieticians; nurses; SLPs; OTs; pharmacists; PTs; other: psychologist	1	Case report	N/A
Castles et al., 2014, UK	Experiences of the Implementation of a Learning Disability Nursing Liaison Service Within an Acute Hospital Setting: A Service Evaluation	Learning disability nurse services described as assisting with discharge planning, translating medical information into plain language, reasonable adjustments	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Allied health assistants; case manager/social workers; nurses; PTs; nonclinical staff	> 100	Service evaluation; descriptive	Qualitative, patients and providers reported that learning disability nurses facilitated patient–provider communication
Jackson & Read, 2008, UK	Providing Appropriate Health Care to People With Learning Disabilities	Learning disability nurse	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Nurses	1	Case report	N/A
MacArthur et al., 2015, UK	Making Reasonable and Achievable Adjustments: The Contributions of Learning Disability Liaison Nurses in ‘Getting It Right’ for People With Learning Disabilities Receiving General Hospitals Care	LDLN have specialist expertise to identify reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments include altering physical environments, providing auxiliary aids, adjusting policies/procedures and providing emotional and behavioral support.	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Nurses, nonclinical ward staff	2–50	Service evaluation; descriptive	Descriptive. Proportion of patients with whom the LDLN conducted specific activities related to reasonable adjustments. Qualitative, LDLNs' role involved implementing practical adjustments, providing access to information and modifying care.
Ní Riain & Wickham, 2024, Ireland	“She Just Makes It Easier … ” The Impact of Having a Dedicated Nursing Role in Supporting People With Intellectual Disability When Accessing Acute Hospitals, From the Perspective of Their Support Staff, the Irish Context	Describes the LDLN service—see outcomes	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Nurses	2–50	Service evaluation; descriptive	Qualitative. Themes described the role of the learning disability nurse, such as improving engagement during admission, being a conduit of information through improved communication and making information understandable, and improving experience of people with intellectual disability.
Rees & Northway, 2022, UK	Access to Secondary Healthcare for People With Intellectual Disabilities: The Role of Community Learning Disability Nurses in Wales	LDLN service: promote positive health care experiences for persons with an intellectual disability. They provide expert knowledge and skills to support acute health care staff, and ensuring that reasonable adjustments/accommodations are in place—see outcomes.	Intellectual and developmental disability and Autism	Acute care	Nurses	2–50	Service evaluation; descriptive	Qualitative. The LDNs individualized accommodations to the patients using a combination of a hospital passport, adapted written health information, and care coordination.
Adapted written health materials
Carling-Rowland et al., 2014, Canada	Increasing Access to Fair Capacity Evaluation for Discharge Decision-Making for People With Aphasia: A Randomised Controlled Trial	Communication Aid to Capacity Evaluation (CACE), an easy read and picture version of a standardized capacity assessment	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	Outpatient, for admission to long-term care facility	Social workers/case managers	51–100	Efficacy, randomized controlled trial	Positive, significantly increased patient ability to convey information and decreased frustration on a Likert scale created by the investigator. No difference in comprehension. Providers had increased ability to determine capacity.
Chinn, 2020, UK	An Empirical Examination of the Use of Easy Read Health Information in Health Consultations Involving Patients With Intellectual Disabilities	Easy Read health information (ERHI)—adapted written resources typically using short sentences, jargon‐free language, and verbal text supported or explicated through visual images	Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Autism	Primary care	Primary care physicians, specialized disability nurses	2–50	Hybrid, descriptive	Qualitative. Patients found the easy-read information acceptable. 22% of providers adopted ERHI.
Rose et al., 2003, Australia	The Effectiveness of Aphasia-Friendly Principles for Printed Health Education Materials for People With Aphasia Following Stroke	Aphasia-friendly health materials (less words per sentence, and more graphics)	Aphasia and neurogenic conditions	n/a	None	2–50	Efficacy, quasi-experimental	Positive. Patients comprehended 11.2% more information from materials with an aphasia friendly format on investigator created knowledge test. However, a third of patients preferred the existing brochures.
Systematic Identification of communication disability and/or accommodation need
Buning et al., 2024, US	Self-Reported Accommodation Needs for Patients With Disabilities in Primary Care	All patients presenting for a wellness visit were given a questionnaire querying accommodation needs	Any disabilities	Primary care	Medical office staff	> 100	Effectiveness; descriptive	4.6% of patients reported hearing-related disabilities using the question and process. The top requested accommodations were communication and cognitive-based supports like inclusion of a support person with care decisions.
Fox et al., 2023, Australia	The Impact of a Cognitive Impairment Support Program on Patients in an Acute Care Setting: A Pre-Test Post-Test Intervention Study	1. Identification of patients with cognitive impairments admitted to the hospital with a cognitive impairment identifier 2. Educational program on communication techniques to providers when speaking with persons with cognitive impairment	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Acute	Nurses; physicians/advanced practice providers; other: allied health, administration and operational staff including cleaners, security, food services staff		Hybrid, quasi-experimental	Neutral. Insignificant reduction in admissions Patient improvements on two Dementia Quality of Life Measure domains Statistically significant improvement in clinical staff confidence to care for patients with cognitive impairment (p = .003), satisfaction with organizational support for patients (p = .004), and job satisfaction (p ≤ .001)
Morris et al., 2021, US	Implementation of Collection of Patients' Disability Status by Centralized Scheduling	Asking about disability status including CD during new patient registration by centralized call center staff implementation strategy: training, visual reminders (table tents) with the prompt, and question sets	Any disabilities	Primary care	Registration staff agents		Implementation; quasi-experimental	Positive. Increase in completion rates from baseline (9.5%) to maintenance (53.5%). 1.6% of patients asked why data were being collected. Patients were comfortable disclosing disability status. Agents preferred asking the screener question rather than the long set.
Mudrick et al., 2020, US	Can Disability Accommodation Needs Stored in Electronic Health Records Help Providers Prepare for Patient Visits? A Qualitative Study	Accommodation needs fields were integrated into the electronic health record	Any disabilities	Primary care	Case manager/social workers; medical office staff; nurses; nursing assistants; physicians/advanced practice providers; other: psychologist, community health worker		Service evaluation; descriptive	Qualitative. Theme 1: Accommodation needs generally are not known in advance of the patient's visit. Theme 2: EHR systems offer helpful information, but with usage challenges and information gaps. Theme 3: Accommodations do occur at health visits but are often developed at the time of the visit. Theme 4: Knowledge of a regular patient is often the basis for advanced accommodation preparation. Theme 5: Providers acknowledge the benefit of preparation for accommodation needs and are supportive of methods to enable it.
Varadaraj et al., 2022, US	Identifying Accessibility Requests for Patients With Disabilities Through an Electronic Health Record–Based Questionnaire	“Do you have any accessibility requests for this visit?” was asked of all new patients making appointments.	Any communication and other disabilities	Eye clinic	Call center and front-desk staff		Service evaluation; descriptive	9.4% of patients made an accessibility request of the clinic
Patient–Family Agenda tool
Smith et al., 2022, Canada	Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing a Multicomponent Intervention/Accommodation to Improve Communication With Older Adults With and Without Dementia (SHARING Choices) in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study	A multicomponent intervention that integrates simple communication strategies that have been demonstrated to be effective including a checklist for person–family agenda setting, based on the Wolff studies below	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Primary care	Nonclinical (medical office staff); physicians/advanced practice providers	1–50	Implementation; descriptive	Qualitative. Primary care clinicians, staff, and patients and families felt the checklist was acceptable, had a strong evidence base, and improved readiness for the advanced care visit. Barriers included the complexity of the intervention, costs, and time.
Wolff et al., 2018, US	Patient–Family Agenda Setting for Primary Care Patients With Cognitive Impairment: The SAME Page Trial	Previsit checklist/agenda setting and role specification of partner to support primary care visit	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Primary care	Physicians/advanced practice provider		Effectiveness, randomized controlled trial	Positive. Communication between provider and patient was significantly more patient centered in the intervention dyads, measured by the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). No effect on visit duration.
Wolff et al., 2021, US	SHARING Choices: A Pilot Study to Engage Family in Advance Care Planning of Older Adults With and Without Cognitive Impairment in the Primary Care Context	Person–family agenda-setting checklist to align patient and family perspectives regarding the role of the family member in primary care interactions, part of a larger, multicomponent intervention	Dementia/cognitive impairment	Primary care	Physicians/advanced practice provider		Hybrid; nonrandomized quasi-experimental pilot	Positive, 75% of patients identified with cognitive impairment completed advanced care planning conversations. Uptake of each therapeutic component was roughly 60%.
Hearing amplifier
Chodosh et al., 2021, US	The HEAR-VA Pilot Study: Hearing Assistance Provided to Older Adults in the Emergency Department	Pocket talkers, a simple hearing assistance device	Hearing	Emergency department (ED)	Research assistants trained on using the personal amplifier, ED staff	> 100	Effectiveness, randomized controlled trial	Positive, 75% of intervention subjects could understand ED instructions without effort as compared to 56% for controls using the Hearing and Understanding Questionnaire. ED revisits—3% of subjects vs. 9.0% in controls
Voice amplifier
Wong et al., 2021, US	Randomized Controlled Trial of a Novel Communication Device Assessed During Noninvasive Ventilation Therapy	Noninvasive voice amplifier attached to an orofacial mask made for intubated patients	Aphonia/dysphonia in critical conditions	Intensive care unit	None	0–50	Efficacy, randomized controlled trial	Positive. Patient word and sentence intelligibility using the voice amplifier was increased relative to the control group (35% vs. 61%).
Virtual visits
Selick et al., 2023, Canada	“Can You Hear Me Now?”: A Qualitative Exploration of Communication Quality in Virtual Primary Care Encounters for Patients With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities	Virtual primary care encounters	Intellectual and developmental disabilities and Autism	Primary care	Physicians/advanced practice providers; nonclinical (IDD support staff)	0–50	Service evaluation, descriptive	Qualitative. Patients were able to participate and communicate in health care from a space they felt comfortable. Technical challenges were also present, and some elements of communication were hindered.

Note. CD = communication disability; US = United States; UK = United Kingdom; AAC = augmentative and alternative communication; SLPs = speech-language pathologists; SLPAs = speech-language pathology assistants; OTs = occupational therapists; n/a = not applicable; PTs = physical therapists; IDD = Intellectual and developmental disabilities; AASPIRE = Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education.