November 2004

Making sense of brain injury

The smell of coffee and garlic, the touch of a feather and strains of a familiar song are being used in an Alfred Hospital research study.

The study involves 70 patients to examine the effectiveness and reliability of a sensory stimulation program in improving the care of patients with severe brain injury and ultimately leading to better functional outcomes.

The study is being undertaken by senior occupational therapist Jacqui Morarty with funds provided by the Victorian Trauma Foundation.

The VTF Trauma Research Fellowship program is administered by the VTF Centre for Trauma Research and practice-based within the National Trauma Research Institute at the Alfred.

‘It is imperative that properly-designed research in this area is conducted to ensure we provide the best possible treatment resulting in the most favourable functional outcomes for our patients,’ Ms Morarty said.

The randomised control study involves two groups of severely brain-injured patients.

The control group receives the usual occupational therapy treatment without sensory stimulation, while the second group receives both controlled sensory stimulation and occupational therapy.

Patients in the experimental group receive a standardised sensory stimulation program for 30 days with the program to be carried out every day.

A six-month follow-up will also take place.

The sensory stimulation program involves the application of stimuli to all five senses.

Earlier this year, Ms Morarty travelled to England as part of her VTF Fellowship to learn about an advanced assessment tool called Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique (SMART).

A recent Cochrane Library Review conducted on sensory stimulation programs for brain-injured individuals in comas or vegetative states indicated that there was no reliable evidence to support or rule out the effectiveness of sensory stimulation in these patients and that further research was needed.