The NIHR ENT Speech and Language Therapy Champions (STENT) was established in 2020 to support new researchers and established academics to provide peer review, support funding applications, share ideas and provide development opportunities. There are currently 19 Speech and Language Therapists across nine local Clinical Research Networks (CRN) and this clinical academic workforce is continuously expanding since forming in February 2020.
STENT members work within ENT services and are all active academics who generate research or contribute towards projects on the NIHR ENT portfolio. This includes Speech and Language Therapists that are on the HEE-NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic Programme pathway or have received a fellowship or project grant.
STENT members are research leaders providing guidance on speech, voice and swallowing outcomes for a number of high profile NIHR portfolio clinical trials. They have a broad range of expertise in a number of areas of research. As such, they are able to provide a rapid reference group providing leadership, consensus building and authorship on national ENT-related standards of care.
STENT shares best practice and offers mentoring support to increase Speech and Language Therapist involvement in clinical research. This support includes reviewing potential projects to assess initial feasibility for funding, and provides contact with experienced investigators to help those that are new to research to navigate the research landscape with more confidence.
The group also supports multicentre research collaborations, providing more opportunities for people to participate in studies from a wider range of backgrounds and experience, making results more applicable across settings. Increasing opportunities for centres to participate in research translates to higher quality care and improved outcomes for patients.
There is a Patient and Public Involvement network aligned with the group. This group allows members to receive essential, early feedback on project ideas and research design and ensure that work is relevant and important to patients and the public.
Given the broad expertise of the group, the Speech and Language Therapy Champions are able to generate research in topic areas. These are some examples of the group’s work:
- Dr Justin Roe, Consultant Speech and Language Therapist talks about the work he did on DARS study
- Dr Roganie Govender is a Consultant Clinical Academic Speech and Language Therapist was recently awarded an MBE for services to Speech and Language Therapy discusses how we can ‘bridge the gap between researcher and practitioner’.
This group has strong links with other research groups including the INTEGRATE ENT Network, as well as professional organisations including the British Laryngological Association, British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists and ENT-UK. The group is strongly aligned with Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Clinical Excellence Networks.
Speech and Language Therapists that are interested in seeking support for their own research project can contact Professor Joanne Patterson.
Our impact
The following represents a selection of projects and areas where the group has impacted:
- Supported Speech and Language Therapist’s to publish papers in academic journals, develop research ideas and to write funding applications.
- Published a paper outlining the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery, workforce and research in the UK in the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.
- Supported the delivery of a UK audit on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people who have undergone laryngectomy surgery.
- Become a rapid reference group for professional bodies, providing leadership, strategic discussion forums and authorship on national ENT-related standards of care.
- Members have worked in partnership with the clinical trial teams to write funding applications, develop protocols and to select multidimensional speech, voice and swallowing outcome measures to compliment oncological endpoints.