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Author: search.filters.author.Thornton A

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    Cognitive assessment during a course of electroconvulsive therapy - A national questionnaire survey of current practice in Aotearoa, New Zealand
    (1/07/2014) Thornton A; Leathem J; Flett R
    Objective: To shed light on current practice regarding cognitive assessment during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) across Aotearoa. Design/Participants: 24 medical professionals representing all ECT administering district health boards responded to an electronic questionnaire. Results: 73.7% assess cognitive function at least once during a course of ECT. 27.3% assess at baseline, at least once during the course and again post-treatment. Assessments are primarily conducted by nurses (38.8%), psychiatrists (22.2%) and psychologists (22.2%). 66% of respondents reported cognitive assessment was not conducted frequently or thoroughly enough in their workplace due to a lack of time, resources and sensitive tests. Conclusion: Respondents recognised assessing cognitive change during a course of ECT was important, though large variations in the nature, frequency and length of assessments existed. Future research should focus on the development of a sensitive screening measure tailored for use with patients receiving ECT to help overcome the current restrictions to cognitive assessment.
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    Coin rotation task. The development of norms for New Zealand and the United States
    Thornton A; Leathem JM
    Merits of the Coin Rotation Task √ Validated against FTT, GST, GPT √ Available, inexpensive, & easily replaceable √ Light – especially compared to other motor tasks √ Doesn't lose calibration √ Free from education effects Why is it not used more often? • Limited norms exist for the use of the task.
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    Monitoring cognitive function during ECT: Current New Zealand practice
    (The New Zealand Psychological Society, 2013) Thornton A; Leathem J; Flett R
    Objective: To determine current practice regarding cognitive assessment during electroconvulsive therapy among ECT treating professionals across New Zealand. Design/Participants: A questionnaire sent to 45 professionals resulted in a response rate of 35.5% from 12 district health boards across New Zealand. Results: Most assess cognitive function at least once during a course of ECT. A third assess at baseline, at least once during and then after the course. Assessments are being conducted by people from various professions. Over two thirds said that a lack of time, resources and sensitive tests were restricting more frequent and thorough cognitive assessments. Conclusion: Respondents recognise that assessing cognitive functioning during a course of ECT is important, though large variations in the nature, frequency and length of the assessments exist. Future research should develop a standardised, sensitive, inexpensive screening measure tailored for use with patients receiving ECT to help overcome the current restrictions to cognitive assessment.