November 2012
39 posts
“of all points in the rehabilitation process following TBI, none is more...”
– Traumatic Brain Injury, rehabilitation for everyday adapting living. Jennie Ponsford
MENTAL SIMULATION AND THE MOTOR SYSTEM
The moment Holmes emptied his gun was the final stage of a set of processes by which
his action was planned in response to the dramatic event he witnessed. Do you think
his reasoning processes relied on the kinds of logical deductions and inductions we discussed in Chapter 10? In fact, there is evidence that a different sort of cognition underlies our reasoning in action situations....
THE NATURE OF MOTOR COGNITION
You may never have thought much about how you plan and control your movements, but even a moment’s reflection should make you aware that your actions typically are not reflexes, triggered by an external stimulus (such as occurs when you
yank your hand back from a hot stove), but rather are the visible manifestation of a
series of mental processes. A key idea is that these same mental processes...
“The daunting complexity of the visual system is functional as well as...”
– Top-down and bottom-up processing
“the main visual pathways in the brain can be thought of as an intricate wiring...”
– The Structure Of The Visual System-Smith Kosslyn
“brain activity arises primarily from the activities of neurons. sensory neurons...”
– cognitive psychology, mind and brain. Edward E. Smith, Stephen M.Kosslyn
“traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects an estimated 10 million people worldwide...”
– Cognitive rehabilitation therapy for traumatic brain injury, Institute of medicine
“I have been a caregiver for almost 16 years. My husband was grievously
injured,...”
– Carol Levine
“the challenges and pressures of family caregiving are
a reality of daily...”
– http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content/pdfs/v1_consensus.pdf
Impact of Caregiving on Family and Leisure...
Half of caregivers say their caregiving has resulted in less time for family
and friends. A substantial proportion also report giving up vacations,
hobbies or other social activities as a result of caregiving responsibilities.
Coping with Stress
Caregivers say they deal with the demands of caregiving by using various coping mechanisms. The most common are praying (73%) and
talking with friends or relatives (61%). Reading about caregiving (44%),
exercising (41%), and going on the Internet to find information (33%)
are other ways they say they cope with the demands of caregivng.
Smaller percentages of caregivers seek help from...
Relationship between Caregiver and Care Recipient
Most care recipients are related to the person who cares
for them (83%). Care recipients are often the caregiver’s mother
(28%), grandmother (9%), or father (8%).
“Who Are the Caregivers?
The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old female, who
has...”
“Elderly spousal caregivers (aged 66-96) who experience caregiving-related stress...”
lower levels of self care..
Caregivers exhibit exaggerated cardiovascular responses to stressful conditions which put them at greater risk than noncaregivers for the development of cardiovascular syndromes such as high blood pressure or heart disease
Caregivers are less likely to engage in preventive health behaviors.66
Spousal caregivers who provide 36 or more hours per week of care are slightly more likely to smoke and...
caregivers are in worse health...
About one in ten (11%) caregivers report that caregiving has caused their physical health to get worse.
Caregivers have lower levels of subjective well-being and physical health than noncaregivers. In 2005, three-fifths of caregivers reported fair or poor health status, one or more chronic conditions, or a disability, compared with one-third of noncaregivers. Caregivers also reported chronic...
“We’re here to enable and disable, not do things for them”
– Mark Smith, Headway House duty manager, 2012
Health Consequences for Women Caregivers:
Research shows that female caregivers (who comprise about two-thirds of all unpaid caregivers) fare worse than their male counterparts, reporting higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower levels of subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and physical health than male caregivers.
According to one study, there is a dramatic increase in risk of mental health consequences among...
Care-givers more at risk of depression...
Studies consistently report higher levels of depressive symptoms and mental health problems among caregivers than among their noncaregiving peers
Estimates show that between 40 to 70% of caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression, with approximately one quarter to one half of these caregivers meeting the diagnostic criteria for major depression
Depressed caregivers are more...
Impact of care giving on family members...
Evidence shows that most caregivers are ill-prepared for their role and provide care with little or no support, yet more than one-third of caregivers continue to provide intense care to others while suffering from poor health themselves.7 Studies have shown that an influential factor in a caregiver’s decision to place an impaired relative in a long-term care facility is the family caregiver’s own...
Research Conclusion...
Although both these facilities offer rehabilitation, it’s clear that they cater for different stages in the recovery process. They have both provided me with a realistic insight into brain injuries and the appropriate procedures, techniques and methods that are available. Although both facilities have outlined numerous positive and negative issues surrounding this subject, it is apparent that they...
“The one thing that we are always concerned about is the lack of support for the...”
– (Joanne Landers- Ward Nurse at Haywood Hospital, 2012)
Issues...
• Psychological issues e.g depression
• Previously had light stimulation room, but was removed for financial issues
• Wheel chairs can’t fit under sinks
• No outdoor social space
• Small dayroom and dining area- resulting in not being used
• Very clinical atmosphere
• TV’s over the beds doesn’t encourage patients to get out of bed
• No weekend therapy
• No family support
“At first I hated it, I did everything not to come….. I guess I just...”
– (Ben Johnson- suffered TBI 2yrs ago .
Headway member and staff, 2012)
“We work as quickly as the slowest person”
– Phillipa Bayley (headway house manager)
Issues...
• Lack of natural light
• Fixed furniture- wheelchair users become isolated
• No quiet/confidential space
• Mismatch of denoted furniture
• No family support
• Secluded spaces- member of staff in each room at all times
Research discovery...
• Age group 18 - 64 years.
• Members tend to be more active in the mornings.
• Afternoons are more relaxed (slower pace)
• No programme- encourages people to make their own decisions.
• Only scheduled period is lunch time
• Mixed gender (higher percentage are male)
• Variety of activities
• Safe...
Throughout my research I attended and observed Headway House Day / Activity
Centre for people who have sustained head injuries. Here it is there objective to
provide a meeting place with facilities for improving social, domestic and educational skills.
“Most common cause of minor head injuries;
• 22-43% falls
• 30-50% Assaults...”
“There were 112,978 admissions to hospitals in England with primary diagnosis of...”
“Traumatic brain injury is common. Unfortunately facilities for rehabilitation of...”
– http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/4/927.full.pdf 