Transfer effects of errorless Goal Management Training on cognitive function and quality of life in brain-injured persons.

Background: Previous findings had shown that the addition of errorless learning to traditional Goal Management Training (GMT) resulted in superior results when training everyday tasks in persons with executive deficits after brain injury.

Objective: To investigate the additional effects of an errorless GMT on cognitive function and quality of life after acquired brain injury.

Methods: This is a supplementary analysis of findings from an RCT in which 67 patients with executive impairments after acquired brain injury were randomly allocated to an experimental errorless GMT (n = 33) or conventional GMT (n = 34) to train two individually chosen everyday tasks. Objective cognitive function using neuropsychological tests, subjective cognitive complaints and quality of life using questionnaires were assessed before and after training.

Results: No significant interaction effects between these three types of outcome measures and the two forms of GMT were found. Irrespective of treatment, performance on two executive tests (Modified Six Elements Test; p = 0.006, Zoo Map test; p = 0.001) improved and daily executive function problems as reported by the participants (EFI; p = 0.001) and proxies (DEX; p = 0.01) diminished.

Conclusions: Besides the previously found superiority of errorless GMT when training everyday tasks, additional improvements in cognition and quality of life did not differ between the two treatments.