This thesis aimed to critique the research on person centred care (PCC) in neurorehabilitation, and consider how PCC in this setting can be further developed. Paper One reviews the extant literature on PCC in neurorehabilitation. The literature search returned 27 papers, which were critiqued for quality, how they conceptualised PCC, how they practiced PCC and the feasibility of PCC. Conceptualisations of PCC used varied from narrow conceptualisations of PCC as participation in goal setting, to broader ones which also incorporated issues such as shared decision making, outcomes, respect and emotional support. Similarly, methods of practicing PCC primarily used goal setting, with a minority of papers addressing outcomes and communication aspects of PCC. The review found that PCC is feasible for neurorehabilitation, with important benefits for clients and professionals. Providing PCC in neurological rehabilitation can be challenging and the literature review discusses ways to overcome barriers to PCC. The literature review highlights the need for methods to assess and develop PCC which are suitable for people with and without cognitive impairments. Paper Two addresses this need, by presenting research investigating the feasibility of using Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) on a neurorehabilitation ward. DCM is an observational method aims to document the quality of care from the perspective of the patient. DCM was found to be feasible for use on a neurorehabilitation ward, as shown by the suitability of the coding system. Q-methodology was used to assess staff perceptions of DCM. This further supported DCM feasibility, with staff reporting that DCM provided useful information for staff that they could use to improve the care they provided. DCM required some minor amendments in order to be used in a hospital rehabilitation environment and further amendments could improve its suitability for use in neurorehabilitation settings. Paper Three is a critical appraisal of both the literature review and research paper. The strengths and weaknesses of the use of both DCM and Q-methodology are critiqued, and consideration given to the limitations of the research.

L’objectif de ce travail, mené en partenariat avec le Département de Chirurgie Oncologique du Centre Paul Strauss à Strasbourg, est d’évaluer les conséquences d’une chirurgie thyroïdienne sur la voix des patients, afin de déceler les différentes perturbations qu’entraîne cette opération chirurgicale, et de mettre au jour les possibles stratégies de compensation ou de réajustements que le patient peut mettre en place, seul ou à l’aide d’une rééducation orthophonique ; il s’agit d’une étude longitudinale. L’évaluation reposait sur l’analyse de signaux acoustiques, à partir desquels une quantité importante d’indices relatifs à la qualité vocale, mais aussi aux comportements articulatoires des locuteurs, a pu être extraite. La production de voyelles soutenues a permis de conduire deux études spectrales. L’étude spatio-temporelle a été rendue possible grâce à l’analyse de logatomes, et plus précisément de séquences VCV. Nous avons mené trois expériences sur le plan acoustique. La première expérience traite des caractéristiques spectrales de la voix de patients ayant subi une thyroïdectomie et ne présentant pas d’immobilité laryngée. La deuxième étude est menée à partir des caractéristiques spectrales de la voix de locuteurs présentant une immobilité laryngée post-thyroïdectomie. Enfin, notre dernière expérience a pour objet, l’étude des caractéristiques spatio-temporelles de la voix de locuteurs qui ont subi une thyroïdectomie et présentant une immobilité laryngée. L’interprétation articulatoire, effectuée à partir des données acoustiques, révèle des perturbations aussi bien des gestes glottiques que des gestes supraglottiques, avec des stratégies de réajustements variables suivant les patients. La conception d’une « cible », comme espace de contrôle pour la réalisation de possibles articulatoires et acoustiques perceptivement acceptables, semble particulièrement pertinente ici, dans la mesure où les locuteurs pathologiques réorganisent leurs productions selon leurs propres contraintes physiologiques et anatomiques, provoquées par leur pathologie. / The aim of this study, conducted in partnership with the Department of Surgical Oncology, Centre Paul Strauss in Strasbourg, is to assess the consequences of thyroid surgery on the voice of patients, in order to identify the various perturbations caused by this surgery, and also to reveal possible compensatory strategies or readjustments that the patient may develop, alone or with speech therapy; this is a longitudinal study. The assessment was based on the analysis of acoustic signals, from which a large amount of cues related to voice quality, but also to articulatory behaviour of speakers was extracted. Production of sustained vowels allowed carrying out two spectral studies. The spatiotemporal study was made possible through the analysis of nonsense words, and more specifically through VCV sequences. We conducted three experiments on the acoustic level. The first experiment deals with the spectral characteristics of the voice of patients who underwent thyroidectomy, with no laryngeal paralysis. The second study was conducted based on spectral characteristics of the voice of speakers with laryngeal post-thyroidectomy paralysis. Our final experiment was to study spatio-temporal characteristics of the voice of speakers who underwent thyroidectomy, with laryngeal paralysis. Articulatory interpretations, made from the acoustic data, reveal perturbations of gestures on both the glottal and supraglottal levels, with readjustment strategies varying according to patients. The concept of a "target" as a control space for execution of possible articulatory and acoustic entities, which are perceptually acceptable, seems particularly relevant in this study, since disordered speakers reorganize their productions according to their own physiological and anatomical constraints, caused by the disorder.