Evaluation of the Uniform Data Set version 3 teleneuropsychological measures

Area of Science:

• Neuropsychology
• Gerontology
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Teleneuropsychology (teleNP) assessments are increasingly important for remote cognitive evaluations.
• Few studies have explored in-home teleNP, and none have specifically evaluated the NACC Uniform Data Set version 3 tele-adapted test battery (UDS v3.0 t-cog).
• This study addresses the need to understand the reliability of the UDS v3.0 t-cog in an in-home setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of the in-home UDS v3.0 t-cog.
• To compare the reliability of the tele-adapted battery with prior in-person UDS v3.0 evaluations.
• To determine if the UDS v3.0 t-cog is a viable alternative to in-person assessments.

Main Methods:

• 181 participants (cognitively unimpaired or impaired) from a longitudinal aging study underwent both in-person and in-home UDS v3.0 evaluations approximately 16 months apart.
• In-home evaluations were administered via video conference (n=122) or telephone (n=59).
• Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to assess agreement between the in-person and tele-adapted assessments.

Main Results:

• Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the UDS v3.0 t-cog ranged from 0.01 to 0.79, indicating moderate to good agreement for most tests.
• Reliability remained comparable for participants with stable diagnoses.
• However, ICCs were generally stronger for repeated in-person UDS v3.0 evaluations (Range: 0.35-0.87).

Conclusions:

• The UDS v3.0 t-cog appears to be a potentially viable alternative to in-person neuropsychological assessments.
• Reliability of the tele-adapted battery may be somewhat attenuated compared to traditional in-person methods.
• Further controlled research is necessary to definitively establish the reliability of these remote cognitive measures.