Monash Strategic Grant Scheme yields new guidelines for Traumatic Brain Injury rehabilitation

Dr Peter Bragge, NTRI

Prof Jenny Ponsford

A 2012 Monash Strategic Grant Scheme project has resulted in the publication of a series of eight guideline papers on Cognitive Rehabilitation following Traumatic Brain Injury. The project was led by Dr Peter Bragge from the National Trauma Research Institute (NTRI) and Professor Jennie Ponsford, Director of the Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, in collaboration with Dr Mark Bayley from the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Canada.
The project brought together an international team of expert researchers and clinicians spanning Australia, Canada and the USA. The team reviewed 11 previous TBI Cognitive Rehabilitation guidelines and over 600 primary research articles to create the International Cognitive Rehabilitation (INCOG) guidelines series, which was published as a special issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation in July 2014.

This work has informed a subsequent project led by Drs Cally Richardson and Kelly Sinclair from Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre. Drs Sinclair and Richardson have been awarded a joint NTRI's Centre of Excellence in Traumatic Brain Injury Research (CETBIR) Fellowship (funded by the TAC) to undertake an audit of Cognitive Rehabilitation practice in a number of Australian and Canadian centres using audit tools developed within the INCOG guidelines, and examining issues faced in providing TBI Cognitive Rehabilitation.

These two projects will inform future efforts to optimise the quality of TBI Cognitive Rehabilitation care.

INCOG paper references:

Bayley, MT; Teasell, R; Wolfe, DL; Gruen, RL; Eng, JJ; Ghajar, J; Tavender, E; Kua, A; Bragge, P: Where to build the bridge between evidence and practice?: Results of an international workshop to prioritize knowledge translation activities in Traumatic Brain Injury care. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 268-276

Bragge, P; Pattuwage, L; Marshall, S; Pitt, V; Piccenna, L; Stergiou-Kita, M; Tate, RL.; Teasell, R; Wiseman-Hakes, C; Kua, A; Ponsford, J; Velikonja, D; Bayley, M. Quality of Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 277–289

Bayley, Mark Theodore; Tate, Robyn; Douglas, Jacinta Mary; Turkstra, Lyn S.; Ponsford, Jennie; Stergiou-Kita, Mary; Kua, Ailene; Bragge, Peter. INCOG Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury: Methods and Overview. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 290–306

Ponsford, Jennie; Janzen, Shannon; McIntyre, Amanda; Bayley, Mark; Velikonja, Diana; Tate, Robyn. INCOG Recommendations for Management of Cognition Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part I: Posttraumatic Amnesia/Delirium. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 307–320

Ponsford, Jennie; Bayley, Mark; Wiseman-Hakes, Catherine; Togher, Leanne; Velikonja, Diana; McIntyre, Amanda; Janzen, Shannon; Tate, Robyn. INCOG Recommendations for Management of Cognition Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part II: Attention and Information Processing Speed. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 321–337

Tate, Robyn; Kennedy, Mary; Ponsford, Jennie; Douglas, Jacinta; Velikonja, Diana; Bayley, Mark; Stergiou-Kita, Mary. INCOG Recommendations for Management of Cognition Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part III: Executive Function and Self-Awareness. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 338–352

Togher, Leanne; Wiseman-Hakes, Catherine; Douglas, Jacinta; Stergiou-Kita, Mary; Ponsford, Jennie; Teasell, Robert; Bayley, Mark; Turkstra, Lyn S.. INCOG Recommendations for Management of Cognition Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part IV: Cognitive Communication. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 353–368

Velikonja, Diana; Tate, Robyn; Ponsford, Jennie; McIntyre, Amanda; Janzen, Shannon; Bayley, Mark.. INCOG Recommendations for Management of Cognition Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part V: Memory. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2014; 29 (4): 369–386