Rehabilitation, Disability, and Participation Research: Are Occupational Therapy Researchers Addressing Cognitive Rehabilitation After Stroke?

Abstract

I reviewed articles published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT) in 2009 and 2010 to assess (1) whether research was published in the practice area of rehabilitation, disability, and participation and (2) the evidence being produced in an underdeveloped subcategory of this practice area: cognitive rehabilitation after stroke. The review revealed one intervention effectiveness study that addressed cognitive rehabilitation poststroke published in the 2-year period. Further analysis of outside repositories of evidence in this area revealed that although some evidence supports rehabilitation approaches for people with cognitive dysfunction after a stroke, little research has been devoted to this practice area. The poststroke cognitive intervention approaches in use have been shown to have little or no effect on improving everyday life activity. Occupational therapy has a key research and practice role with the poststroke population, and occupational therapists should be at the forefront in developing the science to support the effectiveness of their services.

Occupational therapist practice patterns in relation to clients with cognitive impairment following acquired brain injury

“…Interventions targeting clients' cognitive impairment are, therefore, important in brain injury rehabilitation. Occupational therapists (OTs) play a key role in the rehabilitation of clients with CIABI as their interventions primarily address the consequences of cognitive impairments in performance of ADL-activities [5]. Accordingly, occupational therapy interventions have also been shown to have a positive effect on the performance of ADL [6].…”

Health-related quality of life in stroke patients questionnaire, short version (HRQOLISP-40): validation for its use in Colombia

“…As a possible interpretation, this result suggests that the Colombian population sample feels more deficient in the cognitive domain or that patients desire an improvement in this area. It also implies the need to improve the cognitive rehabilitation approach using personalised, and even multimodal, strategies tailored to the needs of each patient, applying them more vigorously when necessary and, in any case, with an aim towards meeting the expectations of patients and their families when possible [43, 44]. …”

Occupational Therapy in Neurological Disorders: Looking Ahead to the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Centennial Vision

“…Of the 116 articles published in the journal during this time (including editorials), only 21 (18%) were related to neurological rehabilitation. Of the 21 articles, one was a Centennial Vision article (Wolf, 2011), which was not included in this review. The remaining 20 articles (shown in Table 1) included 8 effectiveness studies (40%; Hardy et al, 2010;Hayner, Gibson, & Giles, 2010; Henshaw, Polatajko, McEwen, Ryan, & Baum, 2011; Kim & Colantonio, 2010; Maitra et al, 2010; Nilsen, Gillen, & Gordon, 2010; Page, Murray, & Hermann, 2011; Wu, Radel, & Hanna-Pladdy, 2011), 2 efficacy studies (10%; Beckelhimer, Dalton, Richter, Hermann, & Page, 2011; McCall, McEwen, Colantonio, Streiner, & Dawson, 2011), 4 studies on instrument development and testing (20%; Classen, Witter, et al, 2011; Doig, Fleming, Kuipers, & Cornwell, 2010; Lehman, Sindhu, Johnson, & Velozo, 2011; Lehman, Woodbury, & Velozo, 2011), and 6 basic science studies (30%; Classen, Levy, et al, 2011; Goverover, Chiaravalloti, & DeLuca, 2010; Hwang, Cvitanovich, Doroski, & Vajarakitipongse, 2011; Schmid et al, 2011; Wu, Hermann, Ying, & Page, 2010; Wu, Radel, & Hanna-Pladdy, 2011).…”