Factors Influencing Speech-Language Pathology Referral and Utilization in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Analysis.

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists provide important services to people recovering from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), also called concussion, although they may be underutilized in outpatient care. Because health care providers face challenges in selecting assessments to efficiently describe patient needs, the purpose of this study was to describe factors related to patients receiving speech-language pathology services after mTBI, as well as how assessments predict amount of services received.

Method: In this retrospective chart review study, demographic factors, injury characteristics, and assessment scores were extracted from medical records of patients aged 14-65 years receiving services for recent (within 6 months) mTBI at an outpatient specialty clinic.

A Meta-analysis Exploring the Efficacy of Neuropathic Pain Medication for Low Back Pain or Spine-Related Leg Pain: Is Efficacy Dependent on the Presence of Neuropathic Pain?

Background And Objective: Highly variable pain mechanisms in people with low back pain or spine-related leg pain might contribute to inefficacy of neuropathic pain medication. This meta-analysis aimed to determine how neuropathic pain is identified in clinical trials for people taking neuropathic pain medication for low back pain or spine-related leg pain and whether subgrouping based on the presence of neuropathic pain influences efficacy.

Methods: EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, CINAHL [EBSCO], APA PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.

Exploring Demographic and Cognitive Predictors of Self-Management in Quasi-Randomized Fall Prevention Intervention for Older Adults With and Without Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: Changes in health behavior are key to maintaining health, safety, and independence of older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore factors impacting training in self-management and behavior change in older adults with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI), informing efforts to improve safety and independent function.

Methods: Forty-one older adults, 19 with TBI, completed a self-regulation intervention (mental contrasting with implementation intentions; MCII) to promote fall prevention behavior change.

Experiences of Acquired Brain Injury as Expressed Through Mask-Making: A Qualitative Analysis.

Purpose: Acquired brain injury (ABI) extends beyond the immediate aftermath, and understanding individual experience of ABI is paramount to providing effective support mechanisms. This study examined how people with ABI used mask-making to engage in self-expression.

Method: Publicly available data from the Unmasking Brain Injury Project website, an advocacy group for people with ABI, were analyzed.

Applying the Common-Sense Self-Regulation Model to Understand Illness Representations of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in College Students.

Objective: The Common Sense Model (CSM) describes cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial factors that influence how health threats are processed and subsequently inform health-related decisions or actions. The purpose of this study was to examine psychosocial factors influencing coherence, or usefulness, of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) representations and their relationship to health-related decisions and actions.

Setting: Public university.

A theory-based exploration of psychosocial factors influencing concussion health seeking intentions in college students.

This mixed method study examined how psychosocial factors from the Theory of Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action (TPB/RA) influence health-seeking behaviors after concussion, expanding from student-athlete TPB/RA research to assess the influence of psychosocial factors within a general college population. Two hundred and forty-four students participated from a large Southeastern public university. A concurrent nested mixed-methods approach involving closed- and constructed- response survey questions.

Pilot testing the SUCCESS peer mentoring program for students with concussion: the role of personas in mobile technology development.

Purpose: College students with concussion experience academic, cognitive and psychosocial challenges, yet frequently lack supports necessary for successful reintegration into school. Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS) is a virtual peer mentoring program designed to provide education, support and connection through a mobile application. The purpose of this study was to describe use of personas as components of mobile app development and conduct preliminary testing of SUCCESS using personas.

The SUCCESS Peer Mentoring Program for College Students with Concussion: Preliminary Results of a Mobile Technology Delivered Intervention.

Concussions are caused by a hit or blow to the head that alters normal brain functioning. The Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS) program was developed to provide students with psychosocial support and resources-both key components of concussion management-to assist in recovery and return-to-learn following concussion. In this preliminary evaluation of intervention efficacy, SUCCESS was delivered through a mobile application connecting mentors (students who have recovered from concussion and successfully returned to school) with mentees who were currently recovering.

Investigating the Student in Returning to Learn After Concussion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Examine concussion effects on academic outcomes, including student perspectives.

Methods: This study included a systematic review and meta-analysis examining post-concussion school attendance, academic performance, perceptions of academic difficulty, and accommodations for students in elementary through college settings. The analysis considered pre- and post-injury factors, along with injury factors that contribute to post-concussion academic outcomes.

Reconceptualizing Recovery After Concussion: A Phenomenological Exploration of College Student Experiences.

Purpose: Typical measures of recovery from concussion-such as symptom scales, neurocognitive testing, or exertion measures-may not capture individualized experiences of concussion. This report examines how college students with concussion interact with and consider their recovery.

Method: Sixteen college students who sustained concussions while in college completed 40- to 75-min semistructured interviews.

The School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist and Students With Concussion: An Examination of Evolving Knowledge and Confidence.

Purpose: This study examines school-based speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') experience, knowledge, and confidence in supporting students as they return to the classroom following concussion, with a particular focus on knowledge of new management guidelines over the last decade.

Method: Participants were 74 school-based SLPs who completed an electronic survey about their knowledge and experiences serving students with concussion. We examined participants' accuracy and confidence across knowledge questions using Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Cognitive-Communication Complaints and Referrals for Speech-Language Pathology Services Following Concussion.

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists are increasingly being recognized as key members of concussion management teams. This study investigates whether self-report of communication problems postconcussion may be useful in identifying clients who could benefit from speech-language pathology services.

Method: Participants included 41 adolescents and adults from an outpatient specialty concussion clinic.

Effects of Task Demands on Neural Correlates of Acoustic and Semantic Processing in Challenging Listening Conditions.

Purpose Listeners shift their listening strategies between lower level acoustic information and higher level semantic information to prioritize maximum speech intelligibility in challenging listening conditions. Although increasing task demands via acoustic degradation modulates lexical-semantic processing, the neural mechanisms underlying different listening strategies are unclear. The current study examined the extent to which encoding of lower level acoustic cues is modulated by task demand and associations with lexical-semantic processes.

Critical Elements of Return to Learn for Students With Concussion: A Scoping Review.

Objective: To identify critical elements of return to learn (RTL) for students with concussion and examine the state of the peer-reviewed published literature through a scoping review.

Methods: Three electronic databases were systematically searched, and reference lists screened for articles addressing components of RTL protocols and accommodations for students with concussion. In total, 100 articles met inclusion criteria, including 56 empirical studies and 44 expert articles.

Student Perspectives on the Role of Peer Support Following Concussion: Development of the SUCCESS Peer Mentoring Program.

Purpose College students with concussion are often ill-equipped to manage their health and learning needs, and college campuses are slow to react. We present the development of a peer mentoring program for college students with concussion: Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS), focusing on the process by which student needs and preferences drove development of the program for testing. Method Principles of person-centered design were used to guide program development, engaging stakeholders at each stage of development and resulting in the intervention package presented to student participants here.

[Medical reform in Brazil and the US: a comparison of two rhetorics].

The article examines the genesis of the medical education model proposed by A. Flexner in the United States and compares it with Antonio da Silva Mello's 1930s proposal to apply the German university model to Brazilian medical teaching. The heart of these medical reforms - which sought to introduce the teaching of biomedicine and to boost the esteem of the scientific career - did not depend solely on these two reformers' perfect understanding of the bases of the new model.