title: Effectiveness of attention rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury: a meta-analysis.
abstract: The efficacy of attention rehabilitation after an acquired brain injury was examined meta-analytically. Thirty studies with a total of 359 participants met the authors' selection criteria. Studies were categorized according to whether training efficacy was evaluated by comparing pre- and posttraining scores only or included a control condition as well. Performance improved significantly (using the d+ statistic) after training in pre-post only studies but not in pre-post with control studies. Further analyses showed that specific-skills training significantly improved performance of tasks requiring attention but that the cognitive-retraining methods included in the meta-analysis did not significantly affect outcomes. These findings demonstrate that acquired deficits of attention are treatable using specific-skills training. Implications of these results for rehabilitation theory and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Baycrest Centre for Geriatic Care, Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit and Department of Psychology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. npark@baycrest.org
authors.forename: N W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ingles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome