Consumer Acceptability of Brief Videoconference-based Neuropsychological Assessment in Older Individuals with and without Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that neuropsychological assessment via videoconference shows good agreement with traditional in-person assessment. However, there are few published studies regarding patient acceptability of this methodology, particularly in individuals with cognitive impairment. In this study we sought to evaluate patient preferences and acceptability of teleneuropsychology to further shed light on the viability of this cognitive assessment medium. We examined acceptability of videoconference-based neuropsychological assessment among healthy aging individuals and in subjects with mild cognitive impairment or early stage Alzheimer disease. We found that teleneuropsychology appears to be well accepted by consumers. Our results reflected 98% satisfaction, and roughly two-thirds of participants indicated no preference between traditional face-to-face testing and examination by teleneuropsychology. Furthermore, even participants with cognitive impairment showed good acceptability of teleneuropsychological assessment. In conjunction with the preliminary data on reliability and validity from this growing literature, these results support teleneuropsychology as a viable and acceptable method for assessing cognitive functioning, and show promise for the implementation and utilization of this cognitive assessment medium in clinical and research settings.

Keywords:

• Videoconference
• Telemedicine
• Neuropsychology
• Teleneuropsychology
• Telemental health

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants and NIA R01-AG027776 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD.