Effectiveness of Multimodal Cognitive Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury Sustained During Older Adulthood

This study aims to evaluate the impact of a multimodal cognitive intervention, the Cognitive Enrichment Program (CEP), on episodic memory, executive functions, psychological well-being and daily life activities in traumatic brain injured (TBI) older adults, as compared to an active control group that receives only usual care in the form of holistic rehabilitation. The experimental design is a semi-randomized, controlled, before-after study with blinded outcome measurement. French-speaking participants aged 55 years or older and having sustained a mild, moderate or severe TBI at least 6 months before enrollment, were recruited by clinical coordinators from one hospital and from two outpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation centres. The CEP consists of three intervention modules, Introduction and self-awareness, Attention and Memory, and Executive functions, which were conducted with groups of 5 participants, in 90-minute sessions, twice weekly, during 12 weeks. The CEP was conducted by an experienced clinical neuropsychologist. Assessments of intervention effects were performed by trained evaluators, who were blinded to group assignment of participants, in two separate sessions lasting about 90 minutes each. There were three assessment time-points: baseline (pre-intervention - T0); 14-weeks (post-intervention - T1); 6-months post-intervention (follow-up - T2). Primary outcome measures (neuropsychological and self-report) were chosen to measure targeted effects of the CEP and generalization measures (self-report) were used to evaluate broader effects of the intervention. Control measures were also used to control for spontaneous recovery.