Positive Mental Training for sleep and functional outcomes in stroke
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Positive Mental Training for sleep and functional outcomes: A single case experimental design
IRAS ID
344575
Contact name
Shafaq Malik
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death in Scotland, and can have a lasting impact on patients’ functioning, quality of life and sleep. Sleep difficulties after stroke are associated with poorer recovery outcomes, as good sleep is required for motor learning. Therefore, it might be integral to address sleep difficulties to ensure better recovery for patients.
Non-pharmacological interventions are recommended for use in post-stroke insomnia. One such intervention is Positive Mental Training (PosMT), which includes relaxation and resilience training and is delivered using audio-tracks on a mobile app. A 2017 study showed stroke survivors who used this app reported an improvement in sleep and better rehabilitation. The current study aims to investigate whether listening to sleep-related audio-tracks improves insomnia symptoms, rehabilitation outcomes and mood.
This study will be carried out with eligible participants recruited from patients referred to community rehabilitation teams in NHS Lothian. After granting consent, participants will complete questionnaires on insomnia symptoms, recovery and mood (i.e., SCI, UK FIM+FAM, PHQ-9, GAD). They will also be asked to wear a motion watch and write in a sleep diary for one week, to gather information on their sleep quality. After this, they will be asked to listen to the PosMT audio-tracks for 5 weeks and data will be collected again. Follow-up data will be collected after 8 weeks, and then the data will be analysed, and the results written up in the form of a doctoral thesis. The results of this study will be shared with the rehabilitation teams, third-sector stroke groups and may be published in academic journals. If the results show that PosMT is helpful in improving insomnia symptoms, functioning outcomes and mood, the findings will be used to inform guidance on the treatment of sleep difficulties in stroke survivors.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
24/ES/0041
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2024
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion