Architecture and Design Help the Brain Recover

From the 1 November 2011 Science Daily article

How does the hospital environment affect our rehabilitation? New research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, into how the space around us affects the brain reveals that well-planned architecture, design and sensory stimulation increase patients’ ability to recover both physically and mentally. Digital textiles and multisensory spaces can make rehabilitation more effective and reduce the amount of time spent in care…..

Read the article

Related articles

• Architecture and design help the brain to recover (esciencenews.com)
• Rehab Through Architecture And Design (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Harmoniously designed wards help patients recover (news.bioscholar.com)
• Shorter hospital stay with person-centered healthcare (medicalxpress.com)

Religion benefits traumatic brain injury victims, Wayne State University research finds

Image via Wikipedia

From a 28 June 2011 Eureka news alert

DETROIT – Brigid Waldron-Perrine, Ph.D., a recent graduate from Wayne State University, and her mentor, Lisa J. Rapport, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Wayne State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, found that if traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims feel close to a higher power, it can help them rehabilitate. The study was recently published in Rehabilitation Psychology.

 

[Abstract only, Paid subscription needed to access full text of the article.

For suggestions on how to get this article for free or at low cost, click here]

Traumatic brain injury is a disruption of normal brain function after a head injury and affects 1.7 million Americans annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those struggling with the long-term effects of TBI are at a heightened risk for mental and physical problems. Such problems can significantly inhibit rehabilitation outcomes and are therefore important to address in the context of rehabilitation efforts. And when TBI leaves people feeling stressed, less satisfied with life and functionally dependent on others, rehabilitation is the only option.

“Among healthy adults, religion and spirituality have shown strong association with improved life satisfaction and physical and mental health outcomes,” said Waldron-Perrine. But research about religion’s effect on TBI rehabilitation in particular is lacking….

Related articles

• Brain surgeons analyze traumatic brain injuries in comic books (medicalxpress.com)
• Traumatic Brain Injuries – The Case of Asterix & Obelix (paul.kedrosky.com)
• Acupuncture Makes Strides in Treatment of Brain Injuries, PTSD (VIDEO) (waronterrornews.typepad.com)

“Summaries for Patients” and other plain language summaries help patients and others understand medical studies and guidelines

Heard or read about research on a medical topic but not sure if the news is reliable? Looking for trusted information on a treatment or drug carefully reviewed by experts? Do scientific articles seem to contain good information, but they are hard to understand?

Not sure where to go next?  You are not alone.

These plain language summaries are great places to start for medical and health information that has been rewritten for those of us who are not scientists or health care professionals. Much of the information is free, and often there are great links to reliable Web pages for additional information.

• Summaries for Patients  are short plain language summaries of medical research and guides for doctors.

                    These summaries will help you

• Discover how researchers did the published study and what they found, including
  • What the problem was and why it is studied
  • Who was studied and why the study was done
  • What the scientists found and what the limits of the study were
• Find overviews about clinical guidelines -official recommendations for doctors in treating patients

To locate a specific summary

• Go to Patient Information
• Follow the directions under the Summaries for Patients heading

•  patientINFORM plain language summary Web sites  are provided only by participating science and medicine publishers.

These summaries are provided to help patients or their caregivers more fully understand  research results. They also provide links  to the full text of  many research articles.
Some full text articles are free. Others require a reduce-fee payment (much less than ordering from the publisher!).
(Always check to see if you can get the article for free or at even lower cost from your area public, medical, or academic library – most libraries will try to help anyone who contacts them directly)

Cochrane Summaries^beta

Independent high-quality evidence for health care decision making

• Cochrane Collaboration provides well researched reviews of the strongest evidence available about healthcare interventions (as drugs, medical tests,  and medical procedures).  Every available treatment/test has not yet been reviewed. However each review is conducted in depth by experts.            

              To find plain language  and audio summaries of Cochrane Reviews

• Go to the Cochrane Reviews Home page and scroll down to Browse Free Summaries
  
• Click on a topic OR scroll down and click on All Summaries
• The All Summaries page will allow you to
  • Search by entering words and short phrases (as headache, multiple sclerosis drugs, asthma acupuncture
  • Browse by Health Topics (left column)
  • Include only these in the search results
    • Podcasts – audio summaries
    • PEARLS – guidance and advice for real time decisions

Related Blog Items 

• How to read a research paper (and also understand medical/health news items)
• HealthNewsReview.org – Independent Expert Reviews of News Stories (jflahiff.wordpress.com)

Cannot find a plain language summary with the above resources?

Consider asking a reference librarian for help at your local public, academic, or hospital library. Many academic and hospital libraries provide at least limited reference service to the public.
Call or email them for information about their services.

You may also contact me at jmflahiff@msncom.  I will do my best to reply within 48 hours.