Biomedical subjects

David Wai-Kwong Man

Publications and source records attributed to David Wai-Kwong Man.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Prediction of functional rehabilitation outcomes in clients with stroke.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the validity of the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE or Cognistat) and to determine its effects in order to estimate the functional outcomes of survivors with stroke. METHODS: The present study first studied the factor structure NCSE in 148 Chinese survivors with stroke (aged 45-91 years). They were admitted to hospital consecutively and recruited prospectively. The relationship of NCSE with Functional Independence Measures (FIM), a set of measures commonly adopted as an indicator of the outcome of rehabilitation, was studied. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-eight patients with stroke (49.3% male, 50.7% female), with a mean age of 70.38 and an average number of years of education of 3.50 years joined the study. A two-factor NCSE structure was obtained, namely verbal-spatial and integrated cognition, accounting for 62.77% of the variance. A significant relationship between NCSE factors and the functional status of clients with stroke on admission and upon discharge, as well as age, years of education and length of hospital stay were indicated. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports a systematic relationship between cognitive factors and functional outcome in Chinese patients with stroke. Similarities and differences in the NCSE factor structure between the population with stroke and general neurological populations were discussed and the utility of NCSE in stroke rehabilitation, such as its predictive validity in functional independence is suggested.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Development and evaluation of a pictorial-based analogical problem-solving programme for people with traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: People with traumatic brain injury (TBI) must often deal with cognitive problems, including social problem-solving. The study reported herein evaluated the effectiveness of a newly developed pictorial-based analogical problem-solving skills training programme. It is hypothesized that the programme can help people with TBI to learn better problem-solving skills through systematic, theoretically driven learning strategies. METHOD: Based on the instrumental enrichment model and the hierarchy of daily problem-solving as suggested by Holloran and Bressler, analogical problem-solving training software was developed. Thirty subjects with TBI then attended a 20-session interactive analogical problem-solving skills training programme. Another 20 subjects with TBI and of similar demographics formed the control group. The outcome measures included session-based quizzes on analogical problem-solving, the Category Test of the Halstead Reitan Test Battery (HRTB) and the Lawton IADL Scale. FINDINGS: The analogical problem-solving training strategies were found to be effective in improving problem-solving skills. The subjects generally demonstrated a selective improvement in their functional and overall problem-solving skills, but not in their basic problem-solving skills. The subjects in the control group showed stable problem-solving skills over a 4-week interval (no statistically significant changes). The findings indicated the therapeutic significance of the training programme. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study suggested that innovative cognitive rehabilitation programmes can be customized to match the needs of clients with TBI. The applicability and implications of the interactive pictorial-based analogical problem-solving skill-training programme that was used in the study and possibilities for future study in this research area are also discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Reliability and validity study of Silver's test for Hong Kong-Chinese with dementia.

There has been great concern regarding the functional and cognitive abilities of elderly people in performing activities of daily living. 'Silver's test' has been widely used to assess the abilities and mental functions of the aging population in Hong Kong. The purpose of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of a Chinese version of Silver's test (CVST) for Hong Kong-Chinese with dementia. A sample of 78 (21 male and 57 female) elderly subjects was recruited through two-stage cluster sampling. They were administered both the CVST and the Chinese Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient (rs) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) showed that the CVST had a very good inter-rater reliability (rs=0.9573, P=0.000; ICC=0.9966) and test-retest reliability (rs=0.9693, P<0.001; ICC=0.9769). The internal consistency of the test was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha=0.8396). The Mann-Whitney U-test showed that the CVST could discriminate the demented elderly subjects from the non-demented subjects, suggesting the best cut-off score to be 34, yielding a high sensitivity of 96.4% and equally good specificity of 96.7%. There was also a high positive correlation (rs=0.9218, P<0.001) between the total scores of the CVST and the MMSE. Suggestions for the modification of Silver's test were also made. In conclusion, the initial reliability and validity of the CVST has been established for Hong Kong-Chinese with dementia. It appears to be a sensitive and practical cognitive assessment acceptable to this population.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Exploring the self-concepts of persons with intellectual disabilities.

This study explores the self-concepts of Hong Kong Chinese with intellectual disabilities. Face-to-face and individual interviews were conducted in Cantonese, using the Chinese version of the Adult Source of Self-Esteem Inventory (ASSEI) together with three open-ended questions to explore the participants' self-conceptions in different life domains. An opportunity sample of 135 young adults with intellectual disabilities was interviewed. The findings showed that the family self, the social self and achievement in school and work were the self-concept attributes most important to the participants. The participants of this study had a higher total self-concept than that of a comparison group of people without disabilities when the participants used the in-group social comparison to maintain positive self-perception. The importance of partnership with family, self-concept enhancement strategies and quality employment service are discussed in order to facilitate people with intellectual disabilities to develop more positive self-concepts and thus achieve better community integration.

Adolescent↗