Personal digital assistants as cognitive aids for individuals with severe traumatic brain injury: A community-based trial

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of personal digital assistants (PDAs) as cognitive aids in a sample of individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Method: The group included 23 community-dwelling individuals at least 1 year post-severe TBI, who had difficulties in performing everyday tasks due to behavioural memory problems. Participants were trained by an occupational therapist to use PDAs as cognitive aids and assessed for occupational performance (using Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)) and participation in everyday life tasks (using Craig Handicap Assessment and Rating Technique–Revised (CHART)) before training and 8 weeks after training concluded.

Results: Statistically significant improvement was noted for self-ratings of occupational performance and satisfaction with occupational performance (COPM); significant improvement in a self-rating of participation was noted (CHART-R).

Conclusion: A brief training intervention utilizing PDAs as cognitive aids is associated with improved self-ratings of performance in everyday life tasks among community-dwelling individuals with severe TBI.

• Brain injury
• cognition
• PDA
• assistive technology
• occupational therapy

Notes

Notes

[1] A widely used test of behavioural memory, the RBMT-E ‘was developed to detect impairment of everyday memory functioning’ [26]. RBMT-E profile scoring includes the following categories: (1) impaired (0–18), (2) poor (19–27), (3) average (28–36), (4) good (37–42) and (5) exceptionally good (43–48). Validity and reliability [27] have been shown to be high. The RBMT-E is often used as a correlative test for validity of other cognitive assessments and RBMT-E scores have been shown to be more ecologically valid than those of traditional psychometric tests of behavioural memory constructs [27].