Coping styles within the family system in the chronic phase following acquired brain injury: its relation to families' and patients' functioning.

Objective: To investigate how the functioning of family members and the coping styles they use are related to the psychosocial functioning both of the family members and of the person who has sustained a brain injury.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Subjects: Primary caregivers (n = 61) and other family members (n = 15) of 61 patients with brain injury.

Environmental effects in the performance of daily tasks in healthy adults.

Objective: We examined the effect of switching from a familiar to an unfamiliar setting on household task performance in healthy adults. We also examined the influence of the cognitive functions abstract reasoning and memory on the ability to adapt to different environments.

Method: Thirty healthy adults were observed in two different settings while they performed two daily tasks.

Cognitive functioning in the acute phase poststroke: a predictor of discharge destination?

Cognitive dysfunction occurs in more than half of stroke survivors and can have far-reaching consequences for functioning in daily life. Assessment of cognitive function can play a major role in determining the appropriate discharge destination after a hospital stay. The present study aimed to determine the feasibility of cognitive screening in the acute phase poststroke and to investigate whether this cognitive screening can accurately predict discharge destination to either a dependent or an independent living situation.

Is cognitive functioning 1 year poststroke related to quality of life domain?

Previous studies on the association between poststroke cognitive impairment and quality of life (QoL) have shown divergent results. In this study, we investigated the relationships between cognitive functioning and various QoL domains at 1 year poststroke. This was a cross-sectional study, examining 92 patients at 1 year poststroke.

Introducing the concept of learning styles in rehabilitation.

A major focus of rehabilitation is that of optimizing patients' activities. Learning and teaching are key elements in this respect, but raise important questions: what do rehabilitation professionals know with respect to learning and teaching, what do they do, and what do they need? This paper discusses the issue of learning and teaching in rehabilitation practice, and introduces the concept of learning styles. This concept, new in the field of rehabilitation, but well-known in other areas, is presumed to benefit both patients and professionals, as it allows teaching strategies to be matched to individual patients.

Experienced emotional burden in caregivers: psychometric properties of the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire in caregivers of brain injured patients.

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties (internal consistency, discriminant validity, and responsiveness) of the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire for Brain Injury measuring emotional burden in caregivers of patients with chronic acquired brain injury.

Design: Inception cohort study.

Subjects: Caregivers of chronic acquired brain injury patients.

Determinants of quality of life in survivors of cardiac arrest.

Objective: To study factors related to quality of life after a hypoxic period due to cardiac arrest.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Subjects: Eighty-eight survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, admitted to a Dutch academic hospital between 2001 and 2006.

Effectiveness of a low intensity outpatient cognitive rehabilitation programme for patients in the chronic phase after acquired brain injury.

The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine the effectiveness of a low intensity outpatient cognitive rehabilitation programme for patients with acquired brain injury in the chronic phase. Twenty-seven patients with acquired brain injury (i.e.

Efficacy and usability of assistive technology for patients with cognitive deficits: a systematic review.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of portable electronic aids such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers or mobile phones for patients with cognitive deficits by means of a systematic review. The usability of these aids is also briefly discussed.

Data Sources: PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO, EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched up to February 2009.

Coping following acquired brain injury: predictors and correlates.

Objective: To examine the determinants and correlates of coping styles in the chronic phase following acquired brain injury.

Design: Chart review.

Setting: Outpatient rehabilitation center.

The predictive value of cognitive impairments measured at the start of clinical rehabilitation for health status 1 year and 3 years poststroke.

The objective of this study was to investigate the value of screening for cognitive functions at the start of an inpatient rehabilitation programme to predict the health status 1 and 3 years poststroke. In this longitudinal cohort study of stroke patients in inpatient rehabilitation data of 134 participants were analysed. Cognitive and clinical data were collected after admission to inpatient rehabilitation treatment.

Coping styles in relation to cognitive rehabilitation and quality of life after brain injury.

This study investigated the changes in coping styles of patients with acquired brain injury who underwent cognitive rehabilitation, and the effects of these changes on their quality of life. Participants were 110 patients in the chronic phase post-injury, who underwent outpatient cognitive rehabilitation according to current guidelines and standards. Coping style (Utrecht Coping List) was measured at the start of rehabilitation (T0) and repeated at least 5 months later (T1).

Prevalence and determinants of cognitive complaints after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: To investigate the prevalence of cognitive complaints after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and the relationships between cognitive complaints and cognitive impairments, disability and emotional problems.

Methods: Cognitive complaints were assessed with the Checklist for Cognitive and Emotional Consequences following stroke (CLCE-24) in 111 persons who visited our outpatient clinic 3 months after SAH. Associations between cognitive complaints and cognitive functioning, demographic characteristics, disability and emotional problems were examined using Spearman correlations and linear regression analysis.

Comprehensive rehabilitation programmes in the chronic phase after severe brain injury: a systematic review.

Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of the effectiveness of comprehensive rehabilitation programmes for adults in the chronic phase after severe acquired brain injury.

Methods: PubMed, PsychINFO and PsychLit were searched for articles published between 1990 and 2008 and a quality assessment was performed. The comprehensive programmes were subdivided into neurobehavioral interventions, residential community reintegration and day-treatment programmes.

Efficacy of time pressure management in stroke patients with slowed information processing: a randomized controlled trial.

Unlabelled: Winkens I, Van Heugten CM, Wade DT, Habets EJ, Fasotti L. Efficacy of Time Pressure Management in stroke patients with slowed information processing: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To examine the effects of a Time Pressure Management (TPM) strategy taught to stroke patients with mental slowness, compared with the effects of care as usual.

Life after survival: long-term daily functioning and quality of life after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Information about long-term consequences of cardiac arrest is sparse. Because the survival rate is expected to increase, better knowledge of long-term functioning and quality of survival is essential.

Objectives: To determine the level of functioning of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors 1-6 years later, and to evaluate the predictive value of medical variables on long-term functioning.

The prevalence of osteoarthritis of the intact hip and knee among traumatic leg amputees.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) in the knee and/or hip of the intact leg among traumatic leg amputees compared with the general population and its relationship with amputation level, time since amputation, age, and mobility.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Outpatient population of 2 Dutch rehabilitation centers.

The practical use of goal attainment scaling for people with acquired brain injury who receive cognitive rehabilitation.

Objective: To examine the feasibility of and clinical experiences with goal attainment scaling when used for the evaluation of cognitive rehabilitation in people with acquired brain injury.

Design: A prospective observational longitudinal study.

Setting: A 21-week cognitive rehabilitation programme and a cognitive programme with varying length in two different Dutch rehabilitation centres.

Association between cognition and daily life functioning in dementia subtypes.

Objective: To investigate the association between cognition and daily life functioning in dementia subtypes.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were used from 615 patients with dementia who were referred to the Maastricht Memory Clinic of the Maastricht University Medical Centre. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; to measure cognitive status) and the Blessed Dementia Scale (BDS; to measure daily life functioning) for the following types of dementia: Alzheimer's Disease (AD, n = 442); Vascular dementia (VaD, n = 113); frontotemporal dementia (FTD, n = 18); Parkinson's dementia (PD, n = 21); and primary progressive aphasia (PPA, n = 21).

Cognitive impairments in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review.

Objective: To describe the current evidence on the frequency and nature of cognitive impairments in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Design: Systematic review.

Data Sources: Pubmed, Embase, PsychInfo and Cinahl (1980-2006).

Training patients in Time Pressure Management, a cognitive strategy for mental slowness.

Purpose: To provide clinical practitioners with a framework for teaching patients Time Pressure Management, a cognitive strategy that aims to reduce disabilities arising from mental slowness due to acquired brain injury. Time Pressure Management provides patients with compensatory strategies to deal with time pressure in daily life. Application of the training in clinical practice is illustrated using two case examples from a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of Time Pressure Management for patients with stroke.

Review of goal attainment scaling as a useful outcome measure in psychogeriatric patients with cognitive disorders.

Background: Since evidence-based interventions are the standard, there is an urgent need for more information concerning individual ways of measuring clinically relevant outcomes of interventions in cognitive disorders such as dementia. Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) seems to offer a meaningful outcome measure.

Aim: To examine the applicability of GAS in psychogeriatric patients with cognitive disorders.

The reliability and validity of the PALOC-s: a post-acute level of consciousness scale for assessment of young patients with prolonged disturbed consciousness after brain injury.

The objective of the study was the validation of the Post-Acute Level of Consciousness scale (PALOC-s) for use in assessing levels of consciousness of severe brain injured patients in a vegetative state or in a minimally conscious state. A cohort of 44 successively admitted patients (between 2 and 25 years of age), who were treated in an early intensive neurorehabilitation programme, were included in the study. Each patient was examined, using the Western Neuro Sensory Stimulation Profile (WNSSP) and the Disability Rating Scale (DRS), once every two weeks resulting in 327 examinations (all videotaped).

Cognitive-behavioural intervention for depression after stroke: five single case studies on effects and feasibility.

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not a cognitive-behavioural intervention for depression after stroke has an effect and is feasible. A single-subject quasi experimental design (SSED) was used with an AB design and follow-up. The participants were five first episode stroke patients attending outpatient rehabilitation in a rehabilitation centre in The Netherlands.

Reliability and validity of two new instruments for measuring aspects of mental slowness in the daily lives of stroke patients.

The objective of the study was to examine psychometric characteristics of two measures related to mental slowness experienced after stroke: One measure is aimed at performance on tasks, the other is a questionnaire evaluating perceived consequences of mental slowness. A group of 37 stroke patients and 33 matched controls were studied. A subgroup of 10 patients and 22 controls was observed by two independent raters to determine inter-rater reliability, a subgroup of 18 patients completed the questionnaire twice over a two-week interval to determine test-retest stability.