Digital Inclusion in Parkinson's Disease: A Case-Control Study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Digital Health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (pwPD) patients are ideal candidates for telemedicine.
• Digital exclusion poses a significant barrier to implementing telemedicine for pwPD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare digital inclusion levels between pwPD and healthy controls (HC).
• To identify socio-demographic and disease-specific factors influencing digital exclusion in pwPD.

Main Methods:

• 490 pwPD and 140 HC completed the Digital Inclusion Questionnaire (DIQUEST).
• Data collected included demographics and clinical characteristics (Hoehn & Yahr, MDS-UPDRSIII, depression, cognitive decline).
• Nonparametric tests and multivariate linear regression analyzed digital exclusion predictors.

Main Results:

• pwPD exhibited greater digital exclusion than HC, primarily due to lower digital skills.
• Depression, apathy, and mild cognitive decline correlated with increased digital exclusion.
• Parkinson's disease presence and severity independently predicted higher digital exclusion.

Conclusions:

• pwPD face substantial digital exclusion, limiting telemedicine adoption.
• Individuals with more advanced Parkinson's disease are paradoxically more digitally excluded, despite greater need for remote services.