Improving Self-awareness after Acquired Brain Injury Leads to Enhancements in Patients' Daily Living Functionality

Abstract

Objective: To explore whether the improvement in self-awareness induced by a structured intervention programme in patients suffering a brain injury is associated with an enhancement in their functional outcomes.

Method: This study uses a pre- and post-test control group design with a sample of 56 patients with acquired brain injury randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. Pre- and post-intervention measurements were self-awareness (using a previously developed scale) and functional outcome (using the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale).

Results: Patients who received the intervention programme showed a greater improvement in their self-awareness level and functional outcome than patients in the control group. Additionally, the correlation analyses between improvements at both measures showed a relation between improvement in self-awareness and improvement in functional outcome, especially when the pre-treatment self-awareness level was considered.

Conclusions: Implementing an intervention programme in self-awareness, in the context of a global rehabilitation process of patients with acquired brain injury, is useful for improving their self-awareness level and the functionality in their daily activities.