TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring cognitive support use and preference by college students with TBI
T2 - A mixed-methods study
AU - Brown, Jessica
AU - Hux, Karen
AU - Hey, Morgan
AU - Murphy, Madeline
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - PURPOSE: Many college students with TBI rely on external strategies and supports to compensate for persistent memory, organization, and planning deficits that interfere with recalling and executing daily tasks. Practitioners know little, however, about the supports students with TBI choose for this purpose, the reasoning behind their choice, or preferred features of selected supports. The purpose of this study was to explore these issues. METHOD: We collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from eight college students with TBI for completion of a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design. Data analysis included evaluation and triangulation of participant demographic information, survey responses about persistent post-injury symptoms, transcripts from semi-structured interviews about cognitive support devices and strategies, and ranking results about specific compensatory tools. RESULTS: Results suggest that college students with TBI prefer high-tech external supports - sometimes with the addition of low-tech, paper supports - to assist them in managing daily tasks. This preference related to features of portability, accessibility, and automatic reminders. An electronic calendar was the most-preferred high-tech support, and a paper checklist was the most-preferred low-tech support. CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation professionals should consider implementing high-tech supports with preferred characteristics during treatment given the preferences of students with TBI and the consequent likelihood of their continued long-term use following reintegration to community settings.
AB - PURPOSE: Many college students with TBI rely on external strategies and supports to compensate for persistent memory, organization, and planning deficits that interfere with recalling and executing daily tasks. Practitioners know little, however, about the supports students with TBI choose for this purpose, the reasoning behind their choice, or preferred features of selected supports. The purpose of this study was to explore these issues. METHOD: We collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from eight college students with TBI for completion of a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design. Data analysis included evaluation and triangulation of participant demographic information, survey responses about persistent post-injury symptoms, transcripts from semi-structured interviews about cognitive support devices and strategies, and ranking results about specific compensatory tools. RESULTS: Results suggest that college students with TBI prefer high-tech external supports - sometimes with the addition of low-tech, paper supports - to assist them in managing daily tasks. This preference related to features of portability, accessibility, and automatic reminders. An electronic calendar was the most-preferred high-tech support, and a paper checklist was the most-preferred low-tech support. CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation professionals should consider implementing high-tech supports with preferred characteristics during treatment given the preferences of students with TBI and the consequent likelihood of their continued long-term use following reintegration to community settings.
KW - Traumatic brain injury
KW - cognitive deficits
KW - external supports
KW - student survivors
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U2 - 10.3233/NRE-162065
DO - 10.3233/NRE-162065
M3 - Article
C2 - 28946573
AN - SCOPUS:85027571419
VL - 41
SP - 483
EP - 499
JO - NeuroRehabilitation
JF - NeuroRehabilitation
SN - 1053-8135
IS - 2
ER -