Abstract
Background: Measurement of awareness plays an important role in adjustment following a brain injury and is noted to impact on engagement with and outcome of rehabilitation. Aim: To systematically review all instruments used to assess intellectual awareness of deficits following TBI and evaluate study design, instrument properties and methods adopted and explore associated factors.Results: Thirty-four studies, all rated as fair to good quality, were identified and within these twenty-three different assessment tools were adopted. The most common method of assessment was patient-proxy discrepancy with the AQ, PCRS and FrSBe instruments being most frequently employed. However, variability was noted regarding the type of assessment method dependent on various sample demographics (e.g. age of sample) and injury characteristics (e.g. time post injury). Exploration of the association between non-cognitive factors and awareness was more common than cognitive factors and awareness. Cognitive functioning appeared to be worse when there was increased unawareness. By comparison greater variation was found in non-cognitive associates.
Conclusions: The findings reveal that there still lacks a consensus about the preferred instrument to assess intellectual awareness of deficits after TBI specifically. Recommendations for future research to aid comparability across studies and continued tool development ideas are discussed.
| Date of Award | 2018 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Robin Morris (Supervisor) & affiliated academic (Supervisor) |