A mHealth application to identify cognitive communication disorder after right hemisphere stroke: development and...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Over 50% of right hemisphere (RH) stroke patients experience cognitive communication disorders (CCD).
• A significant gap exists in evidence-based screening tools for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to identify RH stroke-related CCD.
• The RECOGNISE mobile health (mHealth) application was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and beta-test the RECOGNISE mHealth application for screening CCD in RH stroke patients.
• To gather user feedback from both RH stroke survivors and SLPs on the application's usability and effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• The RECOGNISE application, designed for Android, was beta-tested by six RH stroke participants and three SLPs.
• User acceptance surveys were completed by all participants.
• Qualitative content analysis was used to evaluate feedback on test items, user interface, and accessibility.

Main Results:

• RH stroke participants found RECOGNISE easy and enjoyable to use.
• SLPs recognized RECOGNISE's evidence-based foundation, unique features, and patient engagement potential.
• User feedback highlighted areas for improvement, including app navigation, image layout, and scoring consistency.

Conclusions:

• RECOGNISE is the first mHealth tool specifically for identifying CCD post-RH stroke.
• With UI enhancements, RECOGNISE shows promise as an evidence-based screening tool for SLPs.
• Further research is required to validate the reliability and accuracy of RECOGNISE.