Feasibility and Psychometric Integrity of Mobile Phone-Based Intensive Measurement of Cognition in Older Adults

Abstract

<b>Background:</b>There is a pressing need for assessment approaches that can be deployed remotely to measure cognitive outcomes in clinical trials and longitudinal aging cohorts. We evaluated the utility of a mobile phone-based intensive measurement study for this purpose. <b>Method:</b>A small cohort of healthy older adults (N = 17, mean age = 73) completed five assessment "bursts" over 12 months, with each measurement burst involving two assessments daily for five consecutive days. Each assessment included brief tests of visual short-term memory and information processing speed, as well as surveys measuring state factors that can affect cognition. <b>Results:</b>At study endpoint we had 94% retention, 97% compliance, and high participant satisfaction. Mobile cognitive test scores demonstrated good reliability, moderate correlations with in-person baseline neuropsychological testing, and significant associations with participant age and education level. <b>Conclusions:</b> Mobile phone-based intensive measurement designs represent a promising assessment approach for measuring cognition longitudinally in older adults.