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A Brief Behavioral Intervention Can Reduce Depression in Stroke Survivors
Brief Description:
A nurse-led behavioral intervention can reduce the incidence of depression in stroke survivors, according to the results of a study published in the recent issue of the journal Stroke. The intervention, called Living Well with Stroke (LWWS), provided individualized counseling sessions aimed at increasing pleasant social interactions and physical activity as a way to elevate mood, and was designed to be used alone or in conjunction with antidepressant medications. This study was funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research.
Transcript:
Balintfy: A recent study published in the journal Stroke, finds that a behavior intervention can reduce the incidence of depression in stroke survivors.
Grady: Behavioral intervention is a strategy and an approach to try to change the behavior of individuals or groups of individuals.
Balintfy: Dr. Patricia A. Grady, Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research explains the intervention, called Living Well with Stroke, provides individualized counseling sessions.
Grady: It helps them focus on realistic treatment goals and helps them develop strategies to deal with some of the frustrations in trying to reach their goals.
Balintfy: A stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain becomes blocked or interrupted, leading to brain damage in the affected area. Stroke survivors can experience a range of aftereffects. As many as one-third of stroke survivors also develop post-stroke depression. Dr. Grady adds that depression can result in a poorer response to rehabilitation, a longer delay in returning to work, more social withdrawal, and increased use of health care services.
Grady: The study was very interesting in that it did show a decrease.the endpoint was a decrease in symptoms of depression and it did show a substantial decrease in the signs of depression and that was in the experimental or the study group compared to the control group.
Balintfy: The clinical trial involved over 100 stroke survivors who exhibited symptoms of post-stroke depression.
Grady: The interesting thing was that immediately after finishing the behavioral intervention, there was improvement in the depression scores of the study group.
Balintfy: Those assigned to the study group—those getting the Living Well with Stroke intervention—received nine counseling sessions over two months with a specially trained stroke rehabilitation nurse. In these sessions, the nurse taught the participants problem-solving skills and helped them develop realistic treatment goals.
Grady: But the really interesting thing was that even up to a year after the study had started and after the counseling session interventions—up to a year afterwards, the dramatic increase or improvement in depression compared to the control group persisted.
Balintfy: Dr. Grady points out that the intervention could be used alone or in conjunction with antidepressant medications.
Grady: The effect with this intervention was more dramatic and more long lasting than with antidepressants alone. That's a very important part of the study.
Balintfy: Dr. Grady emphasizes that study participants had both a relief and remission of depressive symptoms.
Grady: This study gives hope to people whose family members are suffering from depression after a stroke because what it says.what it indicates is that there are behavioral interventions, counseling interventions, that can be carried out that will in fact improve the health of their family members in ways that.that drug therapy alone will not.
Balintfy: For more information on this study, visit www.ninr.nih.gov. This is Joe Balintfy National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
About This Audio Report
Date: 8/27/2009
Reporter: Joe Balintfy
Sound Bite: Dr. Patricia A. Grady
Topic: stroke, behavioral intervention, counseling, depression, Living Well with Stroke
Institute(s):
NINR
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