The Effect of Combined Cognitive Rehabilitation Interventions (Computer and Manual) on Improving the Information Processing Speed and Psychological Status of Women with MS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of combined cognitive rehabilitation interventions (computer and manual) on improving the speed of information processing and improving the mental status variables (MMSE) in women with MS. This research was conducted with pre-test and post-test design with two month follow-up. Twenty two women with MS were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of 12, and the experimental group received cognitive rehabilitation training and the intervention group did not receive any intervention. All participants of the first and last sessions were evaluated by MMSE and Auditory Sequence Test (PASAT). The research was conducted in 21 sessions in Arak and data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance analysis with repeated measurements using SPSS-24 software.The findings showed that the main effect of the time factor (pre-test, post-test, follow-up) on the selected score was significant. Conclusion: Manual cognitive rehabilitation is effective in improving the selective attention of female patients with multiple sclerosis. It is recommended that these interventions be used to improve the information processing speed and the psychological state of women with MS.