TY - JOUR

T1 - Treatment of spatial neglect in current clinical practice: A nationwide survey

AU - Evald, Lars

AU - Wilms, Inge Linda

AU - Nordfang, Maria

PY - 2020/1/1

Y1 - 2020/1/1

N2 - OBJECTIVES:Clinical research has documented a range of evidence-based treatment approaches for spatial neglect (SN), but there is a lack of research on the implementation of treatment into clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to describe the current clinical practice of SN treatment across healthcare sectors including involved professions, methods, timing and sources of evidence.MATERIAL AND METHODS:This is the second part of a nationwide, anonymous, open Internet survey that was conducted among healthcare professionals in Denmark on assessment and treatment of SN.RESULTS:A total of 525 healthcare professionals participated in the survey of which 411 (78.3%) reported that SN treatment was provided at their workplace. Occupational and physiotherapist were most often involved in the treatment, most commonly characterized by training of activities of daily living (ADL), sensoric stimulation and cueing. Less frequently reported were evidence-based methods such as prism adaptation and visual scanning. The overall intensity of the SN treatment varied considerably across sectors and might consequently be inadequate. A minority of the participants consulted clinical research evidence in their choice of SN treatment approaches.CONCLUSIONS:There is a profound lack of dissemination and translation of clinical research into current clinical practice, which unarguably leads to an underuse of evidence-based treatment approaches in SN rehabilitation. The results call for international multidisciplinary clinical guidelines for the treatment of SN at different stages of rehabilitation and the tailoring of treatment approaches to the individual patient.

AB - OBJECTIVES:Clinical research has documented a range of evidence-based treatment approaches for spatial neglect (SN), but there is a lack of research on the implementation of treatment into clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to describe the current clinical practice of SN treatment across healthcare sectors including involved professions, methods, timing and sources of evidence.MATERIAL AND METHODS:This is the second part of a nationwide, anonymous, open Internet survey that was conducted among healthcare professionals in Denmark on assessment and treatment of SN.RESULTS:A total of 525 healthcare professionals participated in the survey of which 411 (78.3%) reported that SN treatment was provided at their workplace. Occupational and physiotherapist were most often involved in the treatment, most commonly characterized by training of activities of daily living (ADL), sensoric stimulation and cueing. Less frequently reported were evidence-based methods such as prism adaptation and visual scanning. The overall intensity of the SN treatment varied considerably across sectors and might consequently be inadequate. A minority of the participants consulted clinical research evidence in their choice of SN treatment approaches.CONCLUSIONS:There is a profound lack of dissemination and translation of clinical research into current clinical practice, which unarguably leads to an underuse of evidence-based treatment approaches in SN rehabilitation. The results call for international multidisciplinary clinical guidelines for the treatment of SN at different stages of rehabilitation and the tailoring of treatment approaches to the individual patient.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - brain injuries

KW - perceptual disorders

KW - stroke

KW - surveys and questionnaires

KW - treatment

U2 - 10.1111/ane.13179

DO - 10.1111/ane.13179

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31602640

VL - 141

SP - 81

EP - 89

JO - Acta Neurologica Scandinavica

JF - Acta Neurologica Scandinavica

SN - 0001-6314

IS - 1

ER -