Building AAC capacity in Majority World countries: Protocol for a pilot study evaluating the feasibility of an AAC implementation approach in Ghana

Communication is a human right, and a precondition for equal opportunities and participation. There is inequity between Majority and Minority World countries in terms of access to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Bridge Assistive and the University of Ghana have collaborated to design an AAC implementation approach aiming to build AAC capacity and increase access to AAC. This manuscript details the protocol for a pilot study that will be used to evaluate the feasibility of this approach. At least seven Ghanaian speech-language pathologists (SLPs) will be included and provided with online AAC training, mentoring, access to electronic AAC systems, and the option to apply for donations of AAC systems after client AAC assessments. Feasibility will be evaluated using online surveys at baseline, after completion of training and 6-month follow-up. Barriers and facilitators to AAC use, as perceived by SLPs and communication partners, will be explored using semi-structured interviews. This study will provide data for improvement of AAC implementation approaches in Ghana and other Majority World contexts.