Culture May Influence Cognitive Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review

Objective(s): To examine how culture impacts cognitive rehabilitation outcomes following stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). For the scoping review, we followed the six-stage paradigm developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and adhered to the PRISMA-ScR checklist.

Data Sources: Four databases (PsycInfo, CINAHL, PubMed, and Web of Science) were searched with specific inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Study Selection: Inclusion criteria: (1) peer-reviewed, either qualitative and quantitative) ;(2) available in English;(2) addressed cognitive rehabilitation implementation and/or outcome; (3) Stroke or TBI as the primary diagnosis ;(4) included culture and/or spirituality and/or family relations terms. Exclusion criteria: (1) non-peer-reviewed, dissertation, and theses;(2) not available in English; (3) population other than Stroke, TBI;(4) did not address cognitive rehabilitation;(5) no explicit inclusion of culture or spirituality or family relation. At least two of the five reviewers screened the titles, abstracts, and full text to confirm inclusion/exclusion. We initially retrieved 1,141 articles and after the screening process yielded 6 included articles.

Data Extraction: Two reviewers separately extracted data from each article and subsequently examined the content for consistency, using a data extraction form. This form covered various details, including the article's title, authors, Year of publication, Type of cognitive rehabilitation, Qualitative findings and Quantitative findings.

Data Synthesis: A narrative synthesis was conducted. Three themes were generated from the six articles: 1) Spiritual practices 2) Family dynamics and support, and 3) Different cultural settings . Evidence suggests culture and spirituality can influence rehabilitation outcomes positively, with family dynamics showing mixed results. Contexts indicate a gap in research.

Conclusions: Despite limited studies, initial findings highlight the potential importance of incorporating cultural, spiritual, and family considerations into cognitive rehabilitation to maximize outcomes. The variability in findings across cultures suggests the need for further research.

Author(s) Disclosures: The author declares that (s)he has no relevant or material financial interests related to the research described in this paper.