With an ageing population, the number of people with neurocognitive disorders will increase, creating a growing need for rapid diagnosis and treatment. Digitalized cognitive tests and assessment methods can lead to more people being tested without increasing the burden on the healthcare system. For successful implementation on a broader scale, patient experience and participation is of great importance.
To explore older people's experiences of using a digital cognitive test, a cognitively healthy population of 70-year-olds was recruited from an ongoing longitudinal study in northern Sweden. A qualitative study design was used, with 132 participants completing the cognitive test. After the test, participants responded to a short questionnaire about their experiences with the digital cognitive test. Participants appreciated the opportunity to complete a cognitive test in digital form from home at a time that suits them. 78% of participants indicated that they were "positive" or "very positive" about conducting digital testing and only 3% indicated that they disliked testing in digital format. Negative experiences reported responses that the test was tiring and that there were sometimes difficulties in staying focused throughout the test.
Positive comments often referred to the fact that there were many different sections with different levels of difficulty. Several pointed out the ease of use. The majority of participants claimed that the digital cognitive test was easy to use. Some quotes from participants:
"Simple good questions, easy to handle, easy to use"
"The fact that you could sit and fill in the form yourself gave me time to think."
The results showed that the ability to take the test in a place and at a time of their own choosing was appreciated by participants. The study is an important piece of the puzzle in the work to enable testing with the help of a phone or tablet in a familiar and comfortable environment. In this study, we could see that the participants appreciated the increased accessibility and the experience of independence. Other findings included a positive impact on travel savings. Most patients found the digital cognitive test easy to use.
Digital healthcare services can help to make healthcare more equitable, as more patients can access a medical assessment. Since the Geras Solutions test is built on a platform, its design and functionality is the same for all users. This is positive because a test leader's personality or interpretation of answers does not affect the results. The results of this study have shown that the digital test can be used successfully based on patient preferences.
The major benefit of digital tests is to reduce the time spent by healthcare professionals on cognitive tests. Data shows that a time saving, and thus cost savings, can be demonstrated without compromising outcomes. On the contrary, standardization means that collected data is deemed more relevant by healthcare professionals.
Read more about published research here.
