Department of Neurology, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, USA.
Department of Psychology, Queens College & The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York City, NY, USA.
Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2022 Nov 21;37(8):1710-1719. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acac045.
Few publications have documented the utility of in-home telephone-based cognitive screeners during COVID-19. This manuscript describes the adaptation of select face-to-face (FTF) neuropsychological tests to telephonic administration in a longitudinal cohort of people with HIV (PWH). Using the cohort's pre-pandemic neuropsychological data, we explore the utility of telephonic administration in this population.
Of a longitudinal cohort of 170 adult PWH, 59 completed telephonic medical and cognitive screenings with comparable pre-pandemic FTF data. Telephone screeners and FTF evaluations were compared using repeated measures ANCOVAs to examine whether test performance differed between administration types and levels of pre-pandemic cognitive performance. Individuals with pre-pandemic test scores more than a standard deviation below the demographically-corrected mean were categorized as "below average" cognitive performance (n = 23), and the remainder as "average" (n = 36).
Over 90% of participants gave positive feedback about the telephone encounter. The average cognitive performance group scored higher than the below average group on all measures across both administration types. Telephone and FTF test scores did not differ significantly for measures of category fluency, letter fluency, and verbal learning. However, the below average group scored higher on a verbal memory measure administered via telephone compared with FTF.
Support for telephonic adaptation of select FTF measures in longitudinal research is mixed, with verbal fluency tasks showing the strongest equivalency. When employed carefully with a clear understanding of their limitations, telephone adaptations can provide an opportunity to continue study objectives, promote equity, and monitor participant well-being during times of duress.
鲜有出版物记录了 COVID-19 期间基于家庭电话的认知筛查器的实用性。本文描述了在艾滋病毒感染者（PWH）的纵向队列中，将一些面对面（FTF）神经心理学测试改编为电话管理的情况。利用该队列在大流行前的神经心理学数据，我们探讨了在该人群中进行电话管理的效用。
在 170 名成年 PWH 的纵向队列中，59 名完成了电话医疗和认知筛查，同时有可比的大流行前 FTF 数据。使用重复测量协方差分析比较电话筛查器和 FTF 评估，以检查测试表现是否因管理类型和大流行前认知表现水平的不同而有所不同。将大流行前测试得分低于按人口统计学校正的平均值一个标准差以上的个体归类为“低于平均水平”的认知表现（n=23），其余的为“平均水平”（n=36）。
超过 90%的参与者对电话接触给予了积极的反馈。在所有管理类型下，平均认知表现组在所有测量指标上的得分均高于低于平均水平组。电话和 FTF 测试在类别流畅性、字母流畅性和言语学习方面的得分没有显著差异。然而，在电话管理的言语记忆测试中，低于平均水平组的得分高于 FTF 组。
支持将一些面对面的测量方法改编为纵向研究的电话测试的结果喜忧参半，言语流畅性任务表现出最强的等效性。当谨慎使用并清楚了解其局限性时，电话改编可以提供机会继续研究目标，促进公平，并在压力时期监测参与者的健康状况。
