Would You Do Cognitive Trainings Again: A View from Participants with First Episode of Schizophrenia

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to identify if individuals with first episode of schizophrenia would utilize computerized cognitive trainings after the study. Using this information, we can identify better ways to support individuals with first episode of schizophrenia in utilizing cost-effective interventions to improve cognition such as attention, memory, and problem solving among ages 18-35 individuals. Methods: One-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve participants in community-based programs who completed cognitive trainings in the Prodromal Assessment Research and Treatment (PART) lab at UCSF. Fifteen participants who completed their post-testing or dropped out of the study were given the chance to interview. Out of twelve participants who interviewed, ten interviews were incorporated in this preliminary analysis. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed. Results: Findings showed that seven of ten participants (70%) who received computerized cognitive trainings would not do the trainings in the future if it were offered again. Six participants (60%) stated that they would engage in the cognitive trainings if the training was paid, more interesting and accessible. Themes that emerged included: monetary incentive, appeal, accessibility and time necessary for training. Conclusions: The goal of cognitive trainings was to preserve cognition among individuals experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia. Cognitive trainings need to be accessible and engaging to motivate individuals with schizophrenia to remediate cognition. Keywords: psychosis, schizophrenia, recent onset psychosis, cognitive trainings, and cognition