Background Dementia diagnoses are typically made where there is a significant, progressive decline in cognitive functioning. Evidence of such decline is increasingly established through information provided by informants. However, some studies demonstrate that informant reports may not always be accurate and may be biased by extraneous factors. This review aimed to elucidate factors that have been identified as potentially having some influence on informant reports of cognitive decline. Method A search of PsychInfo, ASSIA, PubMed and Web of Science databases identified 13 peer-reviewed studies that met criteria for inclusion in the review. Results Reviewed studies provide some evidence for associations between informant-reported cognitive decline and demographic characteristics (patient age, education, ethnicity and informant gender), clinical factors (dementia severity, diagnosis, behavioural disturbance, everyday functioning) and psychological factors (patient depressive symptoms and neuroticism, informant psychological distress and burden). Several methodological limitations of the evidence base were identified. Conclusion Findings suggest that informant-reported cognitive decline may not always be wholly reliable in that information holds potential to be influenced by both patient and informant characteristics. Clinical and empirical implications are discussed.

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of anxiety, related to discharge, among a group of 42 participants who were likely to have sustained an at least moderate-severe ABI and who were due to be discharged home following a period of inpatient neurorehabilitation. Differential relationships between psychological factors (self-efficacy and internal health control beliefs) were examined, alongside the relative influence of demographic and clinical characteristics on discharge-anxiety.Data were obtained via self-report measures and retrospective reviews of participant's inpatient, medical records. While relatively few participants (n = 6; 14%) reported markedly elevated trait-anxiety, almost half the sample (n = 19; 45%) reported clinically significant levels of transient, state-anxiety. Notably, state-anxiety was strongly associated with discharge-anxiety. Multivariate analyses revealed that age, self-efficacy and internal health control beliefs made independent contributions to self-reported discharge-anxiety, with perceived self-efficacy alone explaining 69% of the variance and mediating the effects of age and internal health control beliefs.None of the other demographic or clinical characteristics examined were significantly associated with discharge-anxiety. While causality cannot be inferred, findings suggest that anxiety related to discharge from rehabilitation might be best predicted by poor perceptions of self-efficacy. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a series of two day psychologist-led workshops developed for multidisciplinary team members who work with stroke survivors and their families. Results revealed a significant increase in knowledge and confidence amongst participants post training.