Exploring interest and goals for videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation with rural individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia
Affiliations: [a]
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| [b]
Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Megan E. O’Connell, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada. Tel.: +1 306 966 2496; Fax: +1 306 966 6630; E-mail: rachel.burton@usask.ca.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Goal oriented cognitive rehabilitation is a promising intervention for individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer Disease (AD). Videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation is a potential avenue for increasing accessibility for rural patients and their families. OBJECTIVE: First, we were concerned with the accessibility of the treatment for individuals in rural and remote areas. Second, client-centered goal setting was explored by asking this sample about their goals for cognitive rehabilitation. METHOD: We mailed questions to all active patients with diagnoses of MCI or dementia due to AD of a rural memory clinic and compare features of the responders versus the non-responders. We asked about interest in videoconferencing delivered treatment and about goals for cognitive rehabilitation, which were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: The responders (N = 25) were similar to non-responders in severity, depression, and caregiver burden. Of the responders, 80% were interested in videoconferencing developed treatment. A thematic analysis coded 95% of responses as amenable to cognitive rehabilitation. Participants’ goals were focused on memory, household activities, other cognitive domains, recreation, and higher order tasks. CONCLUSIONS: This work informs the development of both in-person and videoconferencing delivered cognitive rehabilitation for individuals diagnosed with MCI or dementia.
Keywords: Dementia, mild cognitive impairment, rehabilitation, barriers to rehabilitation, telehealth
