Teleneuropsychology: Reliability and Acceptance in Memory Assessment

Area of Science:

• Neuropsychology
• Gerontology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Telehealth adoption in psychological interventions is rising.
• Limited research exists on telehealth for neuropsychological assessment in Portugal.
• Understanding the reliability and acceptance among the elderly Portuguese population is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and acceptance of telehealth for neuropsychological assessment in older Portuguese adults.
• To compare teleconsultation with in-person assessments for cognitive measures.

Main Methods:

• 43 healthy Portuguese adults participated in a randomized study.
• Cognitive measures and questionnaires on sociodemographics, memory, computer literacy, functionality, and depression were administered.
• Participants underwent both videoconference and in-person assessments.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found for the Logical Memory Test between online and in-person conditions.
• Higher scores were observed in the online condition for the Paired Associate Learning Test.
• High satisfaction with teleconsultation was reported, but no preference for this format emerged.

Conclusions:

• Telepsychological assessment of auditory-verbal episodic memory is promising and well-received by older Portuguese adults.
• Teleconsultation offers reliable results for assessing episodic memory.
• Further research is needed to explore preferences and optimize telehealth delivery.