The effects of task-specific home-based touchscreen training in people with Parkinson's disease: a pilot randomized...

Manual dexterity deficits impair the ability to effectively use touchscreen devices in people with Parkinson's disease (PD).

To examine the effects and feasibility of a home-based, unsupervised tablet-task training on task-specific performance in a randomized controlled trial and to determine which individuals are likely to benefit.

Thirty-four PD patients were randomized and included into an experimental training (EXP, N = 16) and passive control group (CTL, N = 18). The EXP practiced a Swipe-Slide Pattern (SSP) task on a tablet (5x/week for 2 weeks) as fast and accurately as possible in single and dual task conditions. Performance on the SSP and an untrained mobile phone task (MPT) were tested before and after two weeks of training and after four weeks follow-up. SSP-Time (primary outcome), SSP-Accuracy (% correct) and MPT-Time were recorded. Linear mixed models were used to assess training effects.

The home-based task-specific training program significantly improved the SSP-Time immediately after training (p < 0.001, d = 0.917) and at follow-up (p = 0.006, d = 0.663), and showed excellent compliance rates (average 98%). No transfer occurred to the untrained MPT. Worse baseline SSP-performance and older age were significantly associated with short- and long-term gains (p < 0.010).

Home-based, unsupervised touchscreen training is feasible and effective to improve movement time of the trained task, albeit without transfer to an untrained task. The heterogeneity and variability of the effects underscore the importance of personalizing rehabilitation programs in PD, according to baseline performance. Future studies should investigate a wider range of transfer tasks and clinical determinants that could impact the training response.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ : NTC05696197, retrospectively registered on January 13, 2023.