Brief Report
Issue Date: May/June 2019
Published Online: April 26, 2019
Updated: April 30, 2020
Effect of Strategy Training on Self-Awareness of Deficits After Stroke
Jessica Kersey; Shannon B. Juengst; Elizabeth Skidmore
Author Affiliations
  • Jessica Kersey, MOT, OTR/L, is Occupational Therapist and Doctoral Student, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Services, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; jmk286@pitt.edu
  • Shannon B. Juengst, PhD, CRC, is Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
  • Elizabeth Skidmore, PhD, OTR/L, is Professor and Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Services, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
Article Information
Neurologic Conditions / Stroke / Columns: Brief Report
Brief Report   |   April 26, 2019
Effect of Strategy Training on Self-Awareness of Deficits After Stroke
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 04 2019, Vol. 73, 7303345020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.031450
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 04 2019, Vol. 73, 7303345020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.031450
Abstract

Importance: Self-awareness of deficits, or the ability to understand the effects of impairments on daily life, is often diminished after a stroke. Diminished self-awareness influences participation in rehabilitation and functional outcomes.

Objective: To examine whether self-awareness of deficits changed over time after a stroke (N = 43) and whether metacognitive strategy training (n = 21) resulted in improved self-awareness compared with direct skill training (n = 22).

Design: Secondary analysis of data collected from a randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Inpatient stroke rehabilitation.

Participants: Adults with cognitive impairments after an acute stroke.

Intervention: Metacognitive strategy training is an approach in which clients are guided through a process of self-assessment and develop solutions for barriers to task performance. This approach was compared with direct skill training, in which the therapist provides specific instructions for task completion, removing the client-initiated assessment and problem-solving components.

Outcomes and Measures: Self-awareness measures included the Self-Regulation Skills Interview and Self-Awareness of Deficits Interview at baseline and 3 mo and 6 mo after the intervention. We used a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze change in self-awareness and a two-way ANOVA to examine differences between groups over time.

Results: There was a statistically significant and potentially meaningful difference over time in the self-awareness domain of strategy behavior, F(2) = 3.35, p = .039, but there were no differences in improvements between the metacognitive strategy and direct skill training groups.

Conclusions and Relevance: Self-awareness warrants further investigation to determine whether it improves naturally over time or through both interventions after stroke.

What This Article Adds: Self-awareness of deficits, and the use of strategies in particular, may improve in the early stages of stroke recovery, but the optimal approach for intervention remains unclear.