Effectiveness of cognitive group therapy for people living with stroke: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a complex dysfunction that originates from a lesion in the brain and is characterized by sudden onset of neurological defects. Cognitive impairment is a common impairment after stroke. Cognitive functions are fundamental for performing activities in daily living. Therefore, cognitive rehabilitation is crucial to enhance cognitive functions in stroke patients. Aim: To explore the effectiveness of cognitive group therapy for improving cognitive functions for people living with stroke. Methods: The study used a quantitative, Quasi-experimental one group pre and post-test research design. Total 9 participants were purposively selected for intervention based on inclusion criteria such as person with stroke and who have cognitive impairment. The intervention was “cognitive group therapy protocol” included 30 sessions, 4 times a week across 8 consecutive weeks. Each session took approximately 45 minutes. Bangla Adapted Mini-mental State Examination (BAMSE) was used to evaluate the cognitive functions of the participants before and after the group intervention. The data was analyzed using the SPSS 25 version for descriptive and inferential analysis. Results: The post-test result showed a statistically significant increase in the BAMSE score, where median cognitive function score in pre-test was 18 and in post-test was 24 (Z=-2.527, P=.012) which indicate positive effect of the intervention. All the pre-test and post-test score of BAMSE except recall and copying show the statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in post-test. Socio-demographic factor shows that gender had an association with total BAMSE score in pre-test and post-test where P value was 0.032. Conclusion: The cognitive group therapy intervention has a positive effect and significantly improve the cognitive functions. So, it can be an effective intervention strategy for people living with stroke and can be recommended for occupational therapists to incorporate it in their practice in the field of stroke rehabilitation. Keywords: Cognitive Rehabilitation, Cognitive Group Therapy, People Living with Stroke