Brazilian Consensus on Sleep-FocusedSpeech-Language-Hearing Sciences – 2023 Brazilian Sleep Association
Introduction This consensus aimed to develop a structured document presenting the
role of sleep-focused Speech-Language-Hearing (SPH) Sciences (SPHS). The recommendations were based on the expertise of specialists and on evidence in the literature,
aiming to guide the coverage of this area and the consequent improvement in the
quality of the professionals’ approach.
Methods A Delphi method was conducted with 49 SLH pathologists (SLHP), four
sleep physicians, one dentist, one physical therapist, and one methodologist. Four
Delphi panel rounds were conducted in Google Forms. The items were analyzed based
on the panelists’ percentage of agreement; consensuses were reached when ⅔ (66.6%)
of valid responses were on a same on a same answer (either “agree” or “disagree”).
Results Participants voted on 102 items. The mean consensus rate was
89.9% 10.9%. The essential topics were the importance of professional training,
the SLH diagnosis, and the SLH treatment of sleep disorders. It was verified that all fields
of the SLHS are related to the area of sleep; that sleep-focused SLH pathologists (SLHP)
are the responsible for assessing, indicating, and conducting specific orofacial
