Unilateral neglect: mechanisms and nursing care.
Unilateral neglect is frequently observed in brain-damaged persons, most commonly in conjunction with right-sided brain damage. Manifest as failure to attend to one-half of the body or extrapersonal space, unilateral neglect is caused by an attentional arousal deficit. Patients with unilateral neglect may present with a variety of behaviors. An understanding of causal mechanisms facilitates implementation of appropriate interventions to assist the patient and caregivers to cope with neglect and improve ability to perform activities of daily living.
Kalbach
L R
LR
Group Health Cooperative, Central Region Nursing Ed/QA, Seattle, Washington 98112.
D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*