Using Talking Lights to Assist Brain-Injured Patients with Daily Inpatient Therapeutic Schedule
By Burke, David T., MD, MA; Leeb, Steven B., PhD; Hinman, Rodrick T., PhD; Lupton, Elmer C., PhD; Burke, Joel; Schneider, Jeffrey C., BA; Ahangar, Brian, BS; Simpson, Kristen, RN; Mayer, Eric Auty Kanoalani, BA; Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 284-291Publication Date: June 2001
Study conducted to test the ability of clients with brain injuries to use a patient locator and minder (PLAM) system to keep track of their therapy schedules. The system utilizes fluorescent lights to transmit information regarding location, which is received by hand-held computers that provide appointment reminders and assistance with navigation. Five rehabilitation clients with acquired brain injury participated in the study. The number of prompts necessary to direct and ensure arrival at a scheduled therapy destination and the proportion of therapy sessions that required no prompting was measured both before and after the introduction of the PLAM system. When utilizing the PLAM system, the average number of prompts dropped by more than 50 percent, while the number of sessions that required no prompting increased from 7 to 44 percent. The authors conclude that the PLAM system described in the article is feasible and useful for clients with acquired brain injury in assisting them with arrival at their therapy destinations without the assistance of staff.
Published by: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins (Website:http://www.lww.com)
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J42344
