Getting closer? Differences remain in neuropsychological assessments converted to mobile devices.

Abstract

Dementia is an increasing concern in today's aging society. Despite the limited evidence for dementia screening at a population level, a push to improve diagnosis and the expansion of technology usage within health-care settings has led to the rising popularity of computerized neuropsychological assessment devices (CNADs). Some CNADs are completely new tests, others are direct translations of traditional pen-and-paper cognitive functioning tests. This study is an investigation of the equivalence between two existing pen-and-paper tests and their translated versions on mobile platforms. In this small-scale study (N = 42), the scores on two multidomain assessments-Saint Louis University Mental State Examination (SLUMS; Feliciano et al., 2013) and Cambridge University Pen to Digital Equivalence assessment (CUPDE; Ruggeri, Maguire, Andrews, Martin, & Menon, 2016)-were significantly different, even with multiple design iterations, when participants were matched by age and score on an independent screening tool, the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Exam (SAGE), t(13) = 2.55, p < .05, d = .680. There was no relationship between the Color Trails Task (CTT; D'Elia, Satz, Uchiyama, & White, 1996; Maj et al., 1993) and its mobile translation, the electronic CTT (eCTT), ρ = -.144, n = 21, p = .533. Though no difference was identified between the eCTT and the modified pen-and-paper CTT (pCTT) scores, t(13) = .092, p = .928, there was no relationship between eCTT and pCTT, r = .139, n = 14, p = .635. Outcome scores of mobile-based assessments appear to remain distinct from the established norms of traditional assessments, adding to existing concerns associated with population-screening programs via mobile applications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).