Memory aids and training may help people with brain injury remember planned tasks
HelpedThe short version
Across 10 trials, memory aids and training helped people remember planned tasks more than other groups did.
- 10
- studies pooled
- 477
- people with brain injury in 10 trials
The review
Who took part
477 people with brain injury took part in 10 trials. Across all 27 studies, most had a traumatic brain injury or a stroke, and average ages ran from about 28 to 65.
What they did
Some groups got memory aids, memory-skills training, computer training or virtual reality. The other groups got no help, waited, or had different training. Across the review's 14 trials, programmes had 4 to 21 sessions of 30 to 120 minutes.
What happened
People who got memory aids or training remembered planned tasks better than the other groups did, and the gap was moderate. After allowing for small trials that may be missing, the gain was smaller but still there. Evidence that the gains lasted, or carried over to daily life, was limited.
What the review found
- Helped
Across 10 trials, memory aids and training helped people remember planned tasks more than other groups did.
Pooled analysis of 10 studies with 477 people · vs people who waited, got no aids or had other training · the authors rated their certainty moderate · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished; whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited
How solid is this?
- Not yet checked by other scientists
- Summary claims more than the results show
- Whole programmes were tested, so no single part can be credited
- Signs that small negative studies went unpublished
Source
Remembering to Remember: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Prospective Memory Rehabilitation in Adults with Acquired Brain Injury (2025)
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7113515/v1 (opens in a new tab)
