Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Nov 14, 2017
Open Peer Review Period: Nov 14, 2017 - Dec 4, 2017
Date Accepted: Jan 1, 2018
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Telehealth Rehabilitation for Cognitive Impairment: Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Nonpharmacological interventions are needed to support the function of older adults struggling with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia due to Alzheimer disease (AD). Telerehabilitation aims to provide rehabilitation at a distance, but cognitive rehabilitation by videoconferencing has not been explored.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to compare goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation delivered in-person with videoconferencing to determine whether telehealth cognitive rehabilitation appears feasible.
Methods:
Random assignment to in-person or telehealth videoconferencing cognitive rehabilitation with a combined between-subjects, multiple baseline single-case experimental design, cognitive rehabilitation was delivered by a therapist to 6 participants with SCI (n=4), MCI (n=1), or dementia due to AD (n=1).
Results:
Two of the 6 participants randomly assigned to the telehealth condition withdrew before beginning the intervention. For those who participated in the intervention, 6 out of 6 goals measured with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure improved for those in the in-person group, and 7 out of 9 goals improved for those in the telehealth group.
Conclusions:
Delivery of cognitive rehabilitation by telehealth appeared feasible but required modifications such as greater reliance on caregivers and clients for manipulating materials.
Citation
Per the author's request the PDF is not available.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.