Touchscreen tablet-based cognitive assessment versus paper-based assessments for traumatic brain injury

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Electronic cognitive assessment tools offer potential advantages for clinical settings.
• Rigorous evaluation is necessary before implementing these tools with specific patient groups, such as individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the performance of a tablet-based electronic cognitive assessment (STAC) against two paper-based cognitive assessments (MoCA, CLQT) in adults with TBI.
• To investigate the influence of user comfort with tablet technology (iPad) on cognitive assessment outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental, correlational study design was utilized.
• Forty adults with a history of TBI completed the STAC, MoCA, and CLQT in a counterbalanced order.
• Participant performance was compared across the assessments, and the effect of iPad comfort was analyzed.

Main Results:

• Moderate correlations were observed between specific subtests of the STAC and both the CLQT and MoCA, particularly for orientation and naming tasks.
• Individuals reporting higher comfort levels with iPad use demonstrated statistically better performance on the STAC's first letter fluency item.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest moderate validity for certain items within the STAC electronic cognitive assessment.
• Further modifications and extensive validation studies are recommended to establish the reliability and utility of the STAC for TBI populations.