Do calendars enhance posttraumatic temporal orientation?: a pilot study

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an in room calendar to correct temporal disorientation in a brain injured population. Thirty consecutive brain injured patients (16 traumatic, 14 non traumatic) admitted to a brain injury rehabilitation unit were randomly assigned to ei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain injury 1998, Vol.12 (1), p.81-86
Main Author: WATANABE, KERTIA L. BLACK, ROSS D. ZAFONTE, SCOTT R. MILLIS, NANCY R. MANN, THOMAS K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Amnesia - physiopathology
Attention - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Injuries - physiopathology
Brain Injuries - psychology
Brain Injuries - rehabilitation
Diseases of the nervous system
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Glasgow Coma Scale
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Orientation - physiology
Pilot Projects
Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects)
Time
Time Perception - physiology
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an in room calendar to correct temporal disorientation in a brain injured population. Thirty consecutive brain injured patients (16 traumatic, 14 non traumatic) admitted to a brain injury rehabilitation unit were randomly assigned to either a group with in room calendars (n = 14) or a group without calendars (n = 16). A baseline Temporal Orientation Test (TOT) score was obtained. Daily TOT scores were obtained for patients throughout their rehabilitation stay or until two consecutive normal scores were obtained. When orientation errors were made, they were corrected and the attention of the patient was drawn to the calendar. There were no statistically significant associations between group and age, gender or mean GCS (for patients with traumatic etiology). Only baseline length of post traumatic amnesia (PTA) had a significant association with eventual emergence from PTA (as defined by a normal score on the TOT). Age and presence of calendar were not significant. In-room calendars have been espoused as orientation aides. The data from this pilot study suggest that calendars do not hasten re-orientation. This finding suggests that other widely held but not rigorously tested beliefs regarding cognitive rehabilitation may need to be examined.
ISSN:0269-9052
1362-301X
DOI:10.1080/026990598122890