International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience
Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: Acute Brain Injury (ABI) patients have to learn new adaptation skills during recovery. Literature on stroke survivors differs in effectiveness of interventions as they are not comprehensive enough to address this complex neurological condition. However, recovery can potentially promote development of insight skills to effectively cope with post-injury deficits. We developed a learned insight questionnaire (LIQ) to understand post-ABI patients through characterisation of attitudinal and adaptation trends in recovery. Methodology: We administered the LIQ, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) to 15 post-ABI patients in a pilot study. Patients were high-functioning, attending an enhanced clinic, and were previously diagnosed with spontaneous brain haemorrhage between 2014-2017. The average age was 53.8 years old (10 females and five males). Reliability analysis showed �±=.814 for 44 items on the LIQ. We ran a principal component analysis and coefficient values of 0.6 were suppressed. 11 components were extracted, accounting for 95.54% of the dataset. Findings: Extracted LIQ components illustrated several latent variables in this cohort: new possibilities, internal locus of control, anxiety regulation, and social emphasis, positive outlook towards faith, increased optimism, and flexibility in changing perspective, ambiguity tolerance and willingness for disclosure. Specific items also significantly correlated with HADS and PTGI factors. Results & Conclusion: Results show three specific characteristics of this patient cohort: proactive self-management (new possibilities and perspective change); dependence on social community, and faith. Increased quality of life studies show presence of similar factors which support these results, such as development of coping strategies, increased social engagement and decreased depressive symptoms. Further research is required to test different ABI cohorts and validate the learned insight questionnaire. Recent Publications 1. Cheng H Y, Chair S Y and Chau J P-C (2014) The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for stroke family caregivers and stroke survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Patient Education and Counselling. 95 (1):30â��44. 2. Mierlo M, Van Heugten, C, Post M W M, Hoekstra T and Visser-Meily A (2017) Trajectories of health-related quality of life after stroke: results from a one-year prospective cohort study. Disability and Rehabilitation 40(9): 997-1006. 3. Tielemans N S, Schepers V P, Visser-Meily J M, Post M W and Van Heugten C M (2015) Associations of proactive coping and self-efficacy with psychosocial outcomes in individuals after stroke. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 96(8):1484â��1491. 4. Tse T, Yusoff S Z B, Churilov L, Ma H, Davis S, Donnan G A and Carey L M (2017) Increased work and social engagement is associated with increased stroke specific quality of life in stroke survivors at 3 months and 12 months post-stroke: A longitudinal study of an Australian stroke cohort. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation. 24(6):405â��414. 5. Visser M M, Heijenbrok-Kal M H, Spijker A V, Oostra K M, Busschbach J J and Ribbers G M (2015) Coping, problem solving, depression, and health-related quality of life in patients receiving outpatient stroke rehabilitation. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 96(8):1492â��8.

Biography

Janell Kwok has research experience in the field of Psychology, Neurosurgery and Communication. She works closely with both medical and allied health professionals to improve patient care management and has international research collaborations. Her interests include clinical neuropsychology, neuroimaging, and cognitive rehabilitation after trauma or injury.
Email:janell_kwok@nni.com.sg