Introduction
The advancement of public health improvement incentives appears to be extremely relevant in the context of present-day development and continuous scientific progress. One of them regards the method of treating TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) clients implemented in patient-centered care Safe Headspace. The focus is on patients, who are years and decades past their traumas, for this reason, the major aim is to find the best option for delivering help to them. The treatment methods involve attending aerobics classes and doing memory exercises. This way, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the outcomes and propose possible improvements regarding the results, personalize the approach, and introduce a framework for the evaluation of the treatment effectiveness.
The Outcomes
As for the outcomes, not all the aims were achieved, though visible improvements were noted. Around 400 people followed the CDC’s recommendations on sticking to aerobics exercise at a moderate level. The results of such activity were mood rise and improvements in memory in muscle control. However, the results appeared to not be as beneficial as expected due to the factor of laziness of the participants. Unfortunately, only 75 patients continued doing physical exercise regularly. However, those who stuck to regular physical activity noticed that muscle control improved by 15%, mood improved by 22%, and short–to–medium-term memory improved by 61% after three months.
The patients had encountered shortfalls when the expectations of the treatment did not match the real outcomes. Continuing the topic of physical activity, some of the participants preferred strength training instead of attending aerobics classes. This group did not notice considerable improvements, apart from muscle control. However, the change was significantly less visible compared to the results of the ones, who practiced regularly, and comprised 4%. In elderly care, the patients were offered to do memory exercises, such as Sudoku and crossword puzzles.
It is also worth highlighting that all the participants were aware of their health problems and were willing to cope with them and do essential exercises. They were stimulated to achieve the desired results by sticking to the CDC’s recommendations. However, this method did not cover such veterans, who are not eager to find an appropriate solution to their health problems. Furthermore, they are not willing to acknowledge their poor health state, and it appears to be challenging to change their position.
This way, the public health improvement incentive was not realized to the full extent, as some factors prevented from achieving the desired aims. As has been mentioned above, one of the hardships implied people’s laziness and inability to stick to a particular habit regularly. Another possible reason for achievement shortfalls is unawareness of the ineffectiveness of the memory exercise on TBI and PTSD patients, so more profound research was required before implementation.
A Strategy for Improving the Outcomes
To guarantee the positive outcomes of treatment, it is essential to make particular corrections. The first one should address increasing the effectiveness of aerobics classes. It is extremely important to pay attention to the improvement of coordination (Georges & Booker, 2017). Therefore, the problem of laziness and low motivation should be taken into consideration. A possible approach implies giving a profound explanation and establishing a strict control for attendance so that a participant will be able to feel the responsibility. In case patients are aware of the influence of regular physical activity on their health state, they will be more motivated to be organized in this regard. In addition, doctors and family members should show their interest in this aspect. This way, a sense of responsibility will encourage TBI and PTSD patients to stick to aerobics classes regularly.
Another proposal regards the memory exercise, which the participants did. Although this implementation did not lead to the desired results, it is still crucial to developing cognitive skills among TBI and PTSD patients (Georges & Booker, 2017). According to Maggio et al. (2019), “cognitive and motor rehabilitation programs are essential for the clinical recovery of TBI patients, improving functional outcomes and the quality of life” (para. 1). Their research proves that the appliance of innovative technologies, including virtual reality, helps treat TBI (Maggio et al., 2019). Therefore, Sudoku and crossword puzzles may be substituted with appropriate particular computer games and other activities, which involve using innovative technologies.
An Approach to Personalizing Patient Care
These days, personalized patient care appears to be extremely important for achieving the treatment aims, as it allows to detect particular specialties about a client and address them precisely. Consequently, some proposals in this regard should be included in the public health improvements incentive. Harvey et al. (2019) presented An Intensive Outpatient Program for Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, which is aimed to elaborate a comprehensive and personalized approach.
It highlights the significance of family education, which can be implemented in treating patients with TBI and PTSD. It is crucial to inform the family members of particular health problems of a client and strategies for coping with them (Shepherd-Banigan et al., 2018). In addition, they are capable of making a considerable contribution by controlling the fact that the patient follows all the recommendations properly.
In another research, Fisher introduces a set of guidelines to personalize patient care. His contribution to elaborating this approach cannot be underestimated, as he reviewed a wide range of research on this topic, aiming to apply the theory to practice. According to the author, “dynamic factor modeling successfully revealed the contemporaneous correlations and time-lagged predictive relationships between factors, providing prescriptive information for the formulation of targeted interventions” (Fisher, 2015, para. 1).
By “delineating the idiosyncratic structure of psychopathology on a person-by-person basis”, this approach can be a useful addition to the public health improvement incentive (Fisher, 2015, para. 1). It also should be mentioned that such evident aspects, such as cultural and racial differences, financial level, and specialties of a particular organism, should be taken into consideration when planning the treatment.
A Framework for Evaluating the Outcomes
To control the improvements and make appropriate corrections, it is necessary to elaborate a framework, which is aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the treatment. As for the part, which involves physical activity, muscle control, the ability to do difficult exercises on coordination and learn the sequence of movements should be noted. Addressing cognitive skills development, short-time memory, the speed of solving particular tasks, and the ability to adjust to new conditions should be taken into consideration. Furthermore, in individual cases, other aspects, such as long-term memory and sensitivity, may be involved in the framework. This approach, which involves physical and cognitive evaluation in combination with individual indicators, presents a comprehensive picture of progress.
Conclusion
In summary, in present-day development, a wide range of incentives are advanced to improve the outcomes of the treatment. The one, which is reviewed in this paper, has the potential to be beneficial. However, some corrections should be implemented concerning the problems with discipline and the effectiveness of cognitive development methods. In addition, possible improvements should regard the individual approach for every patient and his or her specialties.
References
Fisher, A. J. (2015). Toward a dynamic model of psychological assessment: Implications for personalized care. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(4), 825–836. Web.
Georges A., & Booker J. G. (2017). Traumatic brain injury. StatPearls Publishing.
Harvey, M. M., Petersen, T. J., Sager, J. C., Makhija-Graham, N. J., Wright, E. C., Clark, E. L., Laifer, L. M., Richards, L. K., Chow, L. K., Sylvia, L. G., Lento, R. M., Harward, L. K., Clowes, J., Brathwaite, V., Lakin, L. K., Silverberg, N. D., Iverson, G. L., Bui, E., & Simon, N. M. (2019). An intensive outpatient program for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 26(2), 323-334. Web.
Maggio, M. G., Luca, R. D., Molonia, F., Porcari, B., Destro, M., Casella, C., Salvati, R., Bramanti, P., & Calabro, R. S. (2019). Cognitive rehabilitation in patients with traumatic brain injury: A narrative review on the emerging use of virtual reality. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 61, 1-4. Web.
Shepherd-Banigan, M.E., Shapiro, A., McDuffie, J.R., Brancu, M., Sperber, N. R., Houtven, C. H. V., Kosinski, A. S., Mehta, N. N., Nagi, A., & Williams, J. W. (2018). Interventions that support or involve caregivers or families of patients with traumatic injury: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33, 1177–1186. Web.