Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge of Speech-Language and Literacy Development: A Cross-Sectional Study in North Iran.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Healthcare professionals require knowledge of typical speech, language, and literacy development to identify children at risk of speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) and make timely referrals to speech-language pathology services. This study investigated Iranian healthcare professionals' knowledge of speech-language and literacy development. METHODS: A survey questionnaire, the Knowledge of Speech-Language and Literacy Development Questionnaire (KSLLDQ), was developed to measure participants' knowledge of speech-language and literacy development. The KSLLDQ comprised 29 scored items, of which 16 assess knowledge of speech-language development and 13 assess literacy development knowledge. Higher scores indicate greater levels of knowledge. A convenience sample of 164 Iranian healthcare professionals took part, representing rehabilitation sciences, medicine, nursing, dentistry, and public health. KSLLDQ scores were compared across academic majors and gender, and regression analyses were conducted to examine whether demographic characteristics (major, experience, gender, and education level) predicted knowledge scores. RESULTS: Approximately 50% of the participants demonstrated a high level of knowledge, while almost half demonstrated moderate knowledge and only a small proportion demonstrated low knowledge. No statistical difference was observed among different groups of academic majors in total score of the KSLLDQ (H (4) = 4.20, p = 0.37). There was no significant difference between females and males for total score of the KSLLDQ (U = 1764.50, z = -0.13, p = 0.894). Only years of work experience significantly predicted the total KSLLDQ score with more experienced professionals scoring higher on the scale (B = 0.10, SE = 0.05, β = 0.19, t = 2.10, p = 0.037). CONCLUSION: While approximately half the participants demonstrated good knowledge of speech-language and literacy development, knowledge gaps were found for a substantial proportion of our sample. Ways to support Iranian healthcare professionals to address these gaps are discussed, given the importance of early referrals and identification of children with SLCN.