Computer-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation Interventions for Traumatic Brain Injury: A Critical Review of the Literature.
Joseph Fetta, Angela Starkweather, Jessica M Gill
PMID 28661947WHAT IT FOUND
Computer-based cognitive training showed modest benefits in small, mixed studies of brain injury, but evidence for mild traumatic brain injury specifically is too weak to recommend it.
Nurses cannot yet confidently advise patients these tools will improve their recovery.
Key findings
01The review found no basis for recommending computer-based cognitive interventions for mild traumatic brain injury due to heterogeneous samples and small study sizes.
02While some studies reported improvements in working memory and cognition, most participants had mixed types of acquired brain injury, not exclusively mild traumatic brain injury.
03Many studies lacked control groups or did not describe blinding, making it difficult to separate the effect of the computer software from standard rehabilitation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most studies included mixed samples of acquired brain injury, making it hard to isolate effects for mild traumatic brain injury. Sample sizes were very small, often under 50 participants. Study designs varied widely, with many lacking control groups or blinding. Details on injury severity and time since injury were often missing or inconsistent. Physical activity levels, which can affect cognition, were not controlled for in most studies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the positive results in some studies as proof that computer-based training works for mild traumatic brain injury. Most participants in those studies had different types of brain injury or received the software alongside standard rehabilitation, so the specific benefit of the computer intervention alone cannot be confirmed.