The ‘Better Conversations with Primary Progressive Aphasia (BCPPA)’ program for people with PPA (Primary Progressive Aphasia): protocol for a randomised controlled pilot study

摘要

BackgroundPrimary progressive aphasia is a language-led dementia, often associated with frontotemporal dementia. It presents as insidious deterioration of language skills (e.g. naming objects and understanding complex sentences), with relative sparing of cognitive skills initially. There is little research examining the effectiveness of communication skills training for primary progressive aphasia, yet speech and language therapists (SLTs) report regularly using this in clinical practice. ‘Better Conversations with Primary Progressive Aphasia’ has potential to reduce barriers and increase facilitators to conversation and consequently improve confidence in communication and quality of life for people living with primary progressive aphasia and their conversation partners. The aim of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility of running a trial of the ‘Better Conversations with Primary Progressive Aphasia’ intervention.