Speech in Line: A Catholic Ethical Approach in Prioritizing Children with Speech Delay or Elderly Stroke Survivors Amidst the Scarcity of Speech-Language Pathologists in the Philippines.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare systems and rehabilitative services, contributing to a rise in childhood speech delays and elderly stroke cases. Reports indicate an 87.8% increase in speech delay cases, while stroke cases among older adults have nearly doubled, from 4.39 million to 8.19 million. These conditions require timely intervention from speech-language pathologists (SLPs), whose role is vital in addressing communication impairments and supporting recovery. In the Philippines, however, the shortage of qualified SLPs continues to limit access to care, forcing clinicians to prioritize patients amid overwhelming caseloads and limited resources. While prioritization may help manage urgent needs, it can delay assessment and intervention for others, potentially affecting therapeutic outcomes and long-term recovery. This raises important ethical concerns regarding fairness, equity, and access to timely care. Situated primarily within the Philippine healthcare context, though offering insights that may be relevant to other resource-constrained settings, this study examines the ethical implications of patient prioritization in speech-language pathology through the lens of Catholic Church teachings. Using the See-Judge-Act framework, it explores ethical clinical decision-making and compassionate care in contexts marked by limited resources and competing patient needs.