Revising the Kessler Foundation Neglect Assessment Process Manual: A Guidebook to Assessing Spatial Neglect

Spatial neglect, a disorder of lateralized spatial attention, is often considered to be a hidden condition because symptoms do not appear unless comprehensive assessment is completed. The Kessler Foundation Neglect Assessment Process (KF-NAP®) is a standardized method using the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) to detect and measure spatial neglect during daily activities. It is a frequently used tool because it assesses spatial neglect during functional activities, meaning it is comprehensive and applied. Since it was introduced in 2012, the KF-NAP has been adopted in numerous inpatient and outpatient settings and gone through several revisions. The latest and most used version is the 2015 edition.

Users have been providing the developers of the assessment informal feedback and suggestions during training sessions, lectures, and professional conferences. In addition, as part of a multisite implementation project, the developers asked KF-NAP users to provide their comments about the tool.

Using this qualitative information, the developers made changes to the KF-NAP Manual by adding detail to the observation and scoring procedures, a "questions to consider" section to each item-specific instruction, and highlighted instructions based on practice setting. For example, clarification about how to assess the personal belongings category in an outpatient setting is provided, which includes more details on what items to ask and directions about setup.

This article aims to inform health professionals working with the neurological population about the KF-NAP 2023 Manual. The goal is to help users improve their experience and consequently improve practice.