Successful evaluation of cognitive function and the nature of cognitive deficits among people with schizophrenia in clinical rehabilitation settings

Alexander John, K. Yeak, H. Ayres, M. Sevastos, E. Moore

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2016.Objectives: Despite possessing considerable relevance for planning and delivery of effective rehabilitation interventions, systematic evaluation of cognitive function is often ignored in clinical practice. This paper describes a successful method for measuring cognitive function and the nature of cognitive deficits (CD) in people with schizophrenia admitted to psychiatric rehabilitation services. Methods: Data on the cognitive functioning of consecutive patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder admitted during a 5-year period to a public in-patient rehabilitation facility was collated retrospectively and analysed. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) was used to evaluate cognitive function. Results: It was possible to administer the BACS to 122 of 135 consecutive admissions. The mean composite score on the BACS was 1.8 standard deviations below the norm, and 43% had moderate or severe CD. The BACS sub-tests of list learning and symbol coding revealed more severe deficits. Conclusions: The study indicates that evaluation of cognitive function using brief instruments is feasible in psychiatric rehabilitation settings. Global and domain-specific CD were prevalent among people with schizophrenia. In view of the strong association of cognitive functioning with community functioning and rehabilitation outcomes, further studies exploring the feasibility and utility of routinely evaluating cognitive function are warranted.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)342-346
    Number of pages5
    JournalAustralasian Psychiatry
    Volume24
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2016

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