Improving self-awareness of prospective memory function after TBI using experiential feedback on a board game activity: An observational study

This study investigated whether experiential and video feedback on performance of prospective memory (PM) tasks embedded within a board game activity improved self-awareness of PM function in adults with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury. An observational pre–post study design with 26 participants from a larger trial of a 6-session PM rehabilitation programme. Sessions 3 and 4 included a board game activity with embedded time-, event-, and activity-based PM tasks. Verbal feedback was provided by therapists during the game and video feedback afterwards. Self-ratings of performance were used to divide the sample into under-estimators (n = 7), accurate estimators (n = 9) and over-estimators (n = 10) of actual PM performance. The discrepancy between self- and therapist ratings of PM performance was measured before and after the game, and following video feedback, and compared between timepoints using non-parametric statistics. Post-task self-evaluations were more accurate than pre-task self-evaluations for the under- and over-estimator groups. Under-estimators showed significant improvement in accuracy of ratings for activity-based PM. Over-estimators showed improvement for event-based PM. Further improvements after video feedback were not significant. The board game activity provided a vehicle for experiential feedback and a means of engaging both those with impaired self-awareness and heightened self-awareness of PM in cognitive rehabilitation.