The perspectives of participants with traumatic brain injury on prospective memory rehabilitation incorporating compensatory and metacognitive skills training

Objective: Patient feedback is rarely gathered systematically in cognitive rehabilitation research. This study examined the perceptions and experiences of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who participated in a trial of a 6-session educational program for the rehabilitation of prospective memory (PM) impairment. Methods: A mixed methods design was used with 47 participants with TBI who completed a compensatory strategy training program (COMP) or COMP plus metacognitive strategy training program (COMP-MST) delivered by an occupational therapist. Data were collected via a participant survey, extracts from progress notes, and audiotaped discussions about learnings from the program during the final session. Results: Participants from both programs were highly satisfied and perceived improvements in everyday PM performance post-intervention. Elements that were highly valued include setting individualised client-centred goals, repetitive training of strategy use, establishing habits and routines, and receiving experiential, verbal, and written feedback.Changes including more therapy sessions were recommended. Conclusions: Both the COMP and COMP-MST programs were perceived as effective by participants with TBI in improving their PM performance in everyday life using compensatory strategies such as assistive technology. Practice implications: Routine collection of patient feedback on cognitive rehabilitation can provide valuable information to support person-centred implementation of clinical practice guidelines.