Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of personal digital assistant devices
on achievement of memory and organization goals in patients with poor memory
after acquired brain injury.
DESIGN: Assessor blinded randomized controlled
trial. Setting: Specialist brain injury rehabilitation hospital (inpatients and
outpatients). PARTICIPANTS: Adults with acquired brain impairments (85% traumatic
brain injury; aged >/=17 years) who were assessed as having functional memory
impairment on the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (General Memory Index).
INTERVENTIONS: Training and support to use a personal digital assistant for eight
weeks to compensate for memory failures by an occupational therapist. The control
intervention was standard rehabilitation, including use of non-electronic memory
aids. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Goal Attainment Scale which assessed achievement of
participants' daily memory functioning goals and caregiver perception of memory
functioning; and General Frequency of Forgetting subscale of the Memory
Functioning Questionnaire administered at baseline (pre-randomization) and post
intervention (eight weeks later). RESULTS: Forty-two participants with memory
impairment were recruited. Use of a personal digital assistant led to greater
achievement of functional memory goals (mean difference 1.6 (95% confidence
interval (CI) 1.0 to 2.2), P = 0.0001) and improvement on the General Frequency
of Forgetting subscale (mean difference 12.5 (95% CI 2.0 to 22.9), P = 0.021).
CONCLUSIONS: Occupational therapy training in the use of a handheld computer
improved patients' daily memory function more than standard rehabilitation.

Langue : ANGLAIS