First Responder Aphasia Strategy Training

September 10, 2026 updated by: University of Wisconsin, Madison
This study aims to determine the impact of a collaborative approach to training law enforcement officers and first responders about aphasia including their knowledge and confidence in communicating with individuals with aphasia that they may encounter in the field. 75 participants employed as a first responder or law enforcement officer or affiliated personnel in the state of Wisconsin will be enrolled and can expect to be on study for up to 6 months.

Study Overview

Status

Enrolling by invitation

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The investigators will partner with Wisconsin agencies to provide training and programming to law enforcement officers and first responders. Training will include direct teaching, aphasia simulations, scenario-based training and a panel with persons with aphasia with the goal of increasing confidence for law enforcement officers and first responders providing services to and communicating with persons with aphasia. This study may include an online module for training with the same content as in-person training to increase access to employees across shifts and geographic areas of Wisconsin.

Participants will take 3 surveys over 6 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

75

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Wisconsin
      • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53706
        • University of Wisconsin

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Employed as a first responder or law enforcement officer or affiliated personnel in the state of Wisconsin
  • willing and able to provide informed consent
  • willing to comply with all study procedures and be available for the duration of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not employed as a first responder or law enforcement officer with Madison Police Department

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: First Responders
Other: Training about Aphasia
Training will include direct teaching, aphasia simulations, scenario-based training and a panel with persons with aphasia with the goal of increasing confidence for law enforcement officers and first responders providing services to and communicating with persons with aphasia.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
First Responder Aphasia Training Score
Time Frame: pre-test (baseline), post-test (after 1 day of training)
Two items scored from 1 (very confident) to 4 (not confident) where lower scores indicate increased confidence in communication with a person with Aphasia.
pre-test (baseline), post-test (after 1 day of training)
First Responder Aphasia Training Score
Time Frame: pre-test (baseline), 3 to 6 month follow-up
Two items scored from 1 (never), 2 (a few times), 3 (regularly), 4 (I'm not sure) about whether they have interacted with a person with Aphasia in their professional and personal lives.
pre-test (baseline), 3 to 6 month follow-up
First Responder Strategies for Aphasia
Time Frame: pre-test (baseline), post-test (after 1 day of training), 3 to 6 month follow-up
First responders are to list 10 strategies for competence, understanding, and expression in communicating with a person with Aphasia. Count of correct strategies will be reported.
pre-test (baseline), post-test (after 1 day of training), 3 to 6 month follow-up
First Responder Confidence in Communication Score
Time Frame: pre-test (baseline), post-test (after 1 day of training), 3 to 6 month follow-up
Scored from 1 (very uncomfortable) to 5 (very comfortable), with higher scores indicating higher confidence.
pre-test (baseline), post-test (after 1 day of training), 3 to 6 month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kimberly Mueller, PhD, CCC-SLP, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 5, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 4, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 6, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

November 7, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024-1447
  • A481800 (Other Identifier: UW Madison)
  • Protocol Version Sept 2026 (Other Identifier: UW Madison)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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