Correction: Cognitive function in multiple sclerosis improves with telerehabilitation: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Effectiveness of remote neuropsychological interventions: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Remote healthcare services is an upgrowing dynamic field that has been used to reduce potential disease spread and prevent overloading of the healthcare system during COVID-19 pandemic. The need for online interventions during the pandemic required immediate response with sometimes inadequate preparation. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of remote healthcare services in the field of neuropsychological interventions.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted in the electronic databases of PubMed, PsychINFO and Google Scholar. The main search terms were "remote neuropsychological intervention or training." The included articles were RCT studies published in English, examining the effectiveness of remote healthcare services in neuropsychological interventions for adults with neurological disease diagnoses. Studies involving psychiatric disorders were excluded. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the studies and risk of bias using the PEDro Scale.

RESULTS

A total of 10 studies with 2.221 participants were included. All studies concluded that remote healthcare intervention programs can be feasible, safe and effective in the rehabilitation process of neurological diseases.

DISCUSSION

The present review demonstrated that the domains of neuropsychology have opportunities to forge ahead beyond traditional settings and have the ability to adapt to constantly changing environmental conditions with a view to providing patient care. Health policy plans should therefore be reformulated to include these needs in accordance with the social and cultural context of implementation.

An Interview-Based Assessment of the Experience of Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis: The Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI)

Background: Cognitive impairment is a common feature of multiple sclerosis (MS). A semi-structured interview, including informant input, can characterize the experience of individuals living with MS and cognitive involvement.

Objective: We administered the Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI), a patient- and informant-based semi-structured interview, to characterize the experience of cognitive impairments in those living with MS.

Methods: Trained raters administered the CAI to a sample of MS participants and their informants enrolled for a trial of cognitive remediation. Cognitive impairments on the CAI were characterized and compared to those captured by neuropsychological and self-report measures.

Results: A total of n = 109 MS participants (mean age = 50.3 ± 12.2) and their available informants (n = 71) were interviewed. Participants reported experiencing processing speed (90/106, 85%), working memory (87/109, 80%), and learning and memory (79/109, 72%) problems most commonly. CAI-based ratings were moderately correlated with a self-report measure (Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Screening Questionnaire, r_s = 0.52, p < 0.001) and only mildly correlated with objective neuropsychological measures specific to executive functions (r_s = 0.21, p = 0.029). For those with informant interviews, ratings were overall consistent, suggesting that the CAI is valid even in cases in which an informant is unavailable and the interview is conducted with the patient alone (as is often the case in clinical and research settings).

Conclusions: The CAI provides a semi-structured interview to characterize the experience of cognitive impairment in MS, with findings representing real-world functioning, adding valuable information to both self-report measures and neuropsychological assessment.

Augmented reality glasses as a new tele-rehabilitation tool for home use: patients' perception and expectations

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A qualitative approach was employed to track perspectives from a range of patients with chronic lung and/or heart diseases. COPD, IPF and MI outpatients from Denmark and Finland were invited to participate. Data were collected through focus group and semi-structured in-depth interviews. Qualitative analysis was performed using standard thematic analytical approaches. A topic guide was used to explore experiences and perceptions of the ARG telerehabilitation device among participants.

RESULTS

Thirteen patients (4 MI, 2 IPF and 7 COPD), 3 women and 10 men aged 56 to 75 years (mean age 63.3 years) were allocated into one focus group (9 patients) and 4 interviews (4 patients). Twelve patients reported the added value of ARG and suggested constructive changes such as the adjustable screen/brightness, robust head fixation for exercise performance, easy to navigate interface and supported feedback based on exercise performance.

CONCLUSION

Patients with chronic heart or lung diseases described the added value in an ARG telerehabilitation programme. Improvements for a future version of the ARG were suggested.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPatients with chronic pulmonary and heart diseases have difficulties to change behaviour to a more active and healthy lifestyle, offers from the health sector to participate in rehabilitation programmes at the hospital are feasible and improves quality of life and exercise capacity. Not all the patients are capable of participating in such rehabilitation programmes due to frailty and long distance to the hospital. Telerehabilitation seems to be a potential treatment to cope with the needs expressed above.Patient involvement in the development of a telerehabilitation solution to empower chronic pulmonary and heart patients to train, ensures a positive contribution to the design of the expected augmented reality software and hardware envisioned solution for telerehabilitation.The development of a user-centered telerehabilitation platform responding to the preferences of patients with chronic disease will remove barriers that limit use and compliance and improve empowerment in future research projects.