Cognitive rehabilitation for attention problems following st | Figure 1

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Cognitive rehabilitation for attention problems following stroke

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Review question

Our aim was to review the evidence about the effect of cognitive rehabilitation on attention, the ability to perform daily activities, mood, and quality of life in people who have attention problems following a stroke.

Background

Many people have problems with attention after stroke. They are unable to concentrate for prolonged periods of time and are distractible, being unable to focus on a specific task in the presence of competing information. 'Cognitive rehabilitation' involves providing therapeutic activities to reduce the severity of cognitive problems, like attention, following damage to the brain. The benefit of cognitive rehabilitation for attention problems following stroke is unclear.

Study characteristics

We identified six studies that compared cognitive rehabilitation with a control group who received their usual care (but not cognitive rehabilitation) for people with attention problems following stroke. We did not consider listening to music, meditation, yoga, or mindfulness to be a form of cognitive rehabilitation. The six studies involved 223 participants who demonstrated attentional problems or reported having such problems following stroke. The evidence is current to February 2019.

Key results

We found no evidence that cognitive rehabilitation improved general (global) measures of attention. The group that received cognitive rehabilitation performed better than the control group on tasks that required people to divide attention. However, this benefit was only seen immediately after the rehabilitation period with no suggestion that the benefits persist for longer. There was no evidence to suggest that cognitive rehabilitation was beneficial for other types of attention problems, or daily life activities, mood, or quality of life. More research is needed.

Certainty of the evidence

The very low to moderate methodological quality of the studies identified, and the lack of studies means that we cannot draw firm conclusions about the effect of cognitive rehabilitation for attention following stroke.

Read the full Cochrane Review here

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  4. no real difference in global functioning or general life satisfaction (low‐ to moderate‐quality evidence).\ In addition, studies had high numbers of people leaving early, differences in outcomes measured, and differing ways in which psychosocial interventions were delivered. More large‐scale, high‐quality and better reported studies are required to address these shortcomings. This will better address whether psychosocial interventions are effective for people with serious mental illness and substance misuse problems.\ How up‐to‐date is this review?\ The review authors searched for studies that had been published up to October 2018.](https://app.figure1.com/case-detail/05925413-2b53-458b-8fcd-8b84d4de80d0)

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