Precision rehabilitation for aphasia by patient age, sex, aphasia severity, and time since stroke? A prespecified, systematic review-based, individual participant data, network, subgroup meta-analysis.

Background: Stroke rehabilitation interventions are routinely personalized to address individuals' needs, goals, and challenges based on evidence from aggregated randomized controlled trials (RCT) data and meta-syntheses. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses may better inform the development of precision rehabilitation approaches, quantifying treatment responses while adjusting for confounders and reducing ecological bias.

Aim: We explored associations between speech and language therapy (SLT) interventions frequency (days/week), intensity (h/week), and dosage (total SLT-hours) and language outcomes for different age, sex, aphasia severity, and chronicity subgroups by undertaking prespecified subgroup network meta-analyses of the RELEASE database.

A Biopsychosocial Intervention for Stroke Carers (BISC): development and description of the intervention.

Objective: Family members of stroke survivors are often not supported for their caring role, with many reporting adjustment difficulties. This paper describes the development and content of a group-based intervention for informal carers of stroke survivors.

Method: The intervention is based on the theoretical foundation of the biopsychosocial model with the aim to understand and address the physical, psychological and social factors of caring for stroke survivors.

Assessing Self-Reported Mood in Aphasia Following Stroke: Challenges, Innovations and Future Directions.

Assessment of mood is critical in determining rehabilitation outcomes for stroke and other acquired brain injury, yet a common consequence of such injuries is aphasia, where language is impaired. Consequently, the use of language-based measures in this population is often not possible. Following a critical review of the neuropsychological aspects of self-reported mood, this paper evaluates the problems in reporting mood after stroke due to aphasia, and discusses implications for the design of adapted instruments.

Biopsychosocial intervention for stroke carers (BISC): results of a feasibility randomised controlled trial and nested qualitative interview study.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of recruiting to and delivering a biopsychosocial intervention for carers of stroke survivors.

Design: Feasibility randomised controlled study with nested qualitative interview study.

Setting: The intervention was delivered in the community in either a group or one-to-one format.

RELEASE: a protocol for a systematic review based, individual participant data, meta- and network meta-analysis, of complex speech-language therapy interventions for stroke-related aphasia.

Background: Speech and language therapy (SLT) benefits people with aphasia following stroke. Group level summary statistics from randomised controlled trials hinder exploration of highly complex SLT interventions and a clinically relevant heterogeneous population. Creating a database of individual participant data (IPD) for people with aphasia aims to allow exploration of individual and therapy-related predictors of recovery and prognosis.

Frequency of anxiety after stroke: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Background: Anxiety is a common and distressing problem after stroke.

Aims: To undertake an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies of anxiety after stroke and integrate the findings with those reported previously.

Summary Of Review: Multiple databases were searched in May 2018 and 53 new studies were included following dual independent sifting and data extraction.

Behavioural activation therapy for post-stroke depression: the BEADS feasibility RCT.

Background: There is currently insufficient evidence for the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of psychological therapies for post-stroke depression.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of undertaking a definitive trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioural activation (BA) compared with usual stroke care for treating post-stroke depression.

Design: Parallel-group, feasibility, multicentre, randomised controlled trial with nested qualitative research and a health economic evaluation.

Biopsychosocial Intervention for Stroke Carers (BISC): protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Introduction: Reducing length of hospital stay for stroke survivors often creates a shift in the responsibility of care towards informal carers. Adjustment to the caregiving process is experienced by many carers as overwhelming, complex and demanding and can have a detrimental impact on mental and physical health and well-being. National policy guidelines recommend that carers' needs are considered and addressed; despite this, few interventions have been developed and empirically evaluated.

Assessment of mood in aphasia following stroke: validation of the Dynamic Visual Analogue Mood Scales (D-VAMS).

Objectives: To validate a non-verbal self-report measure of mood - the Dynamic Visual Analogue Mood Scales (D-VAMS) - against the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and assess its suitability as an outcome measure or screening measure for depressed mood following stroke.

Design: Cross-sectional observational cohort study.

Participants: Forty-six stroke survivors (24% with aphasia) recruited from online, from stroke clubs and via an NHS rehabilitation service.

Behavioural Activation Therapy for Depression after Stroke (BEADS): a study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled pilot trial of a psychological intervention for post-stroke depression.

Background: There is currently insufficient evidence for the clinical and cost-effectiveness of psychological therapies for treating post-stroke depression.

Methods/design: BEADS is a parallel group feasibility multicentre randomised controlled trial with nested qualitative research and economic evaluation. The aim is to evaluate the feasibility of undertaking a full trial comparing behavioural activation (BA) to usual stroke care for 4 months for patients with post-stroke depression.

The facilitators of communication with people with dementia in a care setting: an interview study with healthcare workers.

Objectives: to describe the views of healthcare workers on the facilitators of communication with people with dementia in a care setting.

Design: thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.

Setting: all participants were interviewed in their place of work.

An evaluation of treatment integrity in a randomized trial of behavioural therapy for low mood in stroke patients with aphasia.

Objective: To assess the treatment integrity of behavioural therapy for low mood in stroke patients with aphasia.

Design: Participants were recruited to a multicentre randomized controlled trial (Communication and Low Mood; CALM trial) comparing behavioural therapy with a usual care control group.

Subjects: Of the 51 participants randomly allocated to receive behavioural therapy, 44 participants completed treatment.

Using NNAPPS (Nighttime Nurse and Physician Paging System) to Maximize Resident Call Efficiency within 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) work hour restrictions.

Objectives: To assess if implementing Nighttime Nurse and Physician Paging System (NNAPPS) would improve nurse and physician communication as well as reduce the number of nonurgent pages to residents taking overnight call.

Design: NNAPPS was implemented on the busiest General Surgery and Transplant wards at our University Hospital. We conducted 2 prospective studies that logged pages received by on call surgery residents for 2-month blocks.

Communication and Low Mood (CALM): a randomized controlled trial of behavioural therapy for stroke patients with aphasia.

Objective: The aim was to evaluate behavioural therapy as a treatment for low mood in people with aphasia.

Design: A randomized controlled trial comparing behavioural therapy plus usual care with a usual care control. Potential participants with aphasia after stroke were screened for the presence of low mood.

The assessment of low mood in stroke patients with aphasia: reliability and validity of the 10-item Hospital version of the Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire (SADQH-10).

Objective: To assess the psychometric properties of an observational screening measure of depressive symptoms (SADQH-10; 10-item Hospital version of the Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire) for use in stroke patients with aphasia and to determine the convergent and divergent validity of the SADQH-10.

Design: Cross-sectional cohort.

Setting: Hospital and community.

Powerlessness, anger, and stress in African American women: implications for physical and emotional health.

African American women find themselves at a high risk of experiencing feelings of powerlessness associated with socioeconomic disparities rooted in a history of racism and sexism. The authors present a conceptual model that discusses powerlessness as a significant variable that contributes to the experience of anger and stress in African American women, and consequently to the adverse health consequences of such anger and stress. The authors review the current literature as well as census and health statistics to discern critical historical, social, and cognitive aspects of powerlessness and anger in African American women.

Depression and cognitions after stroke: validation of the Stroke Cognitions Questionnaire Revised (SCQR).

Purpose: The Stroke Cognitions Questionnaire Revised (SCQR) was developed to assess the frequency of positive and negative cognitions of stroke patients. This paper aims to examine the construct validity, internal consistency, test--retest and inter-rater reliability of the SCQR.

Method: The SCQR was constructed by revising the Stroke Cognitions Questionnaire and developing new items from the cognitive-behavioural-therapy treatment notes of depressed stroke patients.

Predictors of emotional distress after stroke.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this prospective longitudinal study was to identify factors relating to emotional distress in the first 6 months after stroke in a sample including patients with aphasia.

Methods: One hundred patients who were in hospital at 1 month after stroke were recruited and assessed on measures of communication impairment (Sheffield Screening Test), personal activities of daily living (Barthel Index), and emotional distress (Visual Analogue Self-Esteem Scale). Demographic and stroke characteristics were recorded.

Ecological predictors of traumatic stress symptoms in caucasian and ethnic minority children exposed to intimate partner violence.

Traumatic stress symptoms were assessed for 218 children ages 5 to 13 following exposure to intimate partner violence: 33% of Caucasian and 17% of minority children were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. A risk and protective factors model was used to predict traumatic stress symptoms. For Caucasian children, the best predictors were mothers' mental health and low self-esteem.

Factors influencing behavioral intention regarding prostate cancer screening among older African-American men.

Purpose: To assess factors associated with perceptions of prostate cancer screening among African-American men aged > or = 55 years based upon items developed using the Preventive Health model (PHM).

Research Approach: Focus group research and thematic coding using content analysis.

Setting: A large midwestern, private, nonprofit health system.

Factors relating to depression after stroke.

Objectives: Depression is common after stroke and can impede rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to determine which factors predicted the severity of depression at the time of recruitment to a treatment study and depression 6 months later.

Design: A questionnaire-based longitudinal study.