Cognitive Rehabilitation in Post-COVID-19 Condition

Summary

Post-COVID-19 condition is frequently comprised of persistent cognitive sequela, including deficits in attention and executive functions (EFs). Goal Management Training (GMT) is a cognitive rehabilitation (CR) intervention for improving attention and EFs that has received empirical support in studies of other patient groups. The present study aims to determine the efficacy of GMT for improving everyday attention and EFs in adults who experience persistent cognitive deficits after COVID-19. The study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT), comparing the efficacy of GMT to a wait list control condition (WL), for improving persistent cognitive sequela in post-COVID-19 condition. The study aims to recruit 120 participants aged 18 to 65 years with a history of laboratory- or home-test confirmed, SARS-CoV-2 infection and perceived attentional and EF difficulties in daily life that have lasted for at least two months and that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis. Participants will be randomized to either group-based GMT (n = 60) or WL (n = 60). GMT will be internet-delivered to groups of six participants in six two-hour sessions delivered weekly (five weeks). The primary outcome will be the Metacognition Index of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version, a self-report measure assessing everyday EF difficulties, at six months post-treatment. Secondary outcomes include performance-based neurocognitive measures and rating scales of cognition, emotional health, quality of life, and fatigue.

Secondary aims include to explore to what extent potential early change predicts outcome, and to examine what characterize those who profit from GMT, in addition to describe the neurocognitive and emotional health in a Covid-19 sample. The investigators will also examine potential effects of GMT at 2- and 5-year follow-up.

Conditions

• COVID-19

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Goal Management Training (GMT)

Goal Management Training is a cognitive rehabilitation intervention that relies on metacognitive strategies to reengage top-down attention processes, in addition to teaching problem-solving techniques, attempting to address executive dysfunctions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Oslo

  collaborator OTHER

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• UiT The Arctic University of Norway

  collaborator OTHER

• Oslo University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jan Stubberud, PhD · University of Oslo and Lovisenberg Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-09-08

Primary Completion

2025-02-01

Completion

2029-01-31

Countries

• Norway

Study Locations