Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2011-1
A quasi-experimental feasibility study to determine the effect of a systematic treatment programme on the scores of the Nottingham Adjustment Scale of individuals with visual field deficits following stroke
Objective: To evaluate a systematic treatment programme developed by the
researcher that targeted aspects of visual functioning affected by visual field
deficits following stroke.
Design: The study design was a non-equivalent control (conventional)
group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental feasibility design, using multisite data
collection methods at specified stages.
Setting: The study was undertaken within three acute hospital settings
as outpatient follow-up sessions.
Subjects: Individuals who had visual field deficits three months post
stroke were studied.
Interventions: A treatment group received routine occupational therapy
and an experimental group received, in addition, a systematic treatment programme.
The treatment phase of both groups lasted six weeks.
Main measures: The Nottingham Adjustment Scale, a measure developed
specifically for visual impairment, was used as the primary outcome measure.
Results: The change in Nottingham Adjustment Scale score was compared
between the experimental (n = 7) and conventional
(n = 8) treatment groups using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test.
The result of Z =−2.028
(P =0.043) showed that there was a
statistically significant difference between the change in Nottingham Adjustment
Scale score between both groups.
Conclusions: The introduction of the systematic treatment programme
resulted in a statistically significant change in the scores of the Nottingham
Adjustment Scale.
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