Comprehensive Health Center, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Neni, Nigeria.
Memory and Aging Center, Global Brain Health Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2024;101(1):175-182. doi: 10.3233/JAD-240518.
Cognitive assessment is a key component of clinical evaluations for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease in primary health care (PHC) settings. The need for well-validated, culturally appropriate, and easy-to-use assessments is especially urgent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that are experiencing rapid growth in their older adult populations.
To examine the feasibility and demographic determinants of performance for a tablet-based cognitive assessment tool (TabCAT) battery, which includes subtests for four cognitive domains, among older PHC patients in southeastNigeria.
A cross-sectional mixed-method descriptive study evaluating the useability and performance of TabCAT.
We enrolled 207 participants (mean age of 64.7±13.5 years; 52% with only primary, 41% secondary, and 7% tertiary education). Most (91%) who initiated the assessment were able to complete it, requiring 10-15 minutes to complete. More years of education was associated with better test scores across all tests (p < 0.001). Living in a rural location was also associated with better performance (p < 0.05). Male compared to female sex did not associate with performance on any of the tests (all ps > 0.05).
Tablet-based cognitive assessment was feasible in rural and urban settings of Nigeria. Better performance on cognitive subtests linked to more education and residing in a rural area; however, sex did not predict performance. Digital cognitive assessment tools hold potential for widespread use in healthcare and educational contexts, particularly in regions with varying levels of urbanization and educational access.
认知评估是初级卫生保健（PHC）环境中痴呆和阿尔茨海默病患者临床评估的关键组成部分。在经历老年人口快速增长的中低收入国家（LMICs），尤其迫切需要经过良好验证、文化适宜且易于使用的评估工具。
考察一种基于平板电脑的认知评估工具（TabCAT）在尼日利亚东南部的老年 PHC 患者中的可行性及其表现的人口统计学决定因素，该工具包括四个认知领域的子测试。
这是一项评估 TabCAT 可用性和性能的横断面混合方法描述性研究。
我们共纳入 207 名参与者（平均年龄 64.7±13.5 岁；仅有小学、中学和大学学历的参与者分别占 52%、41%和 7%）。大多数（91%）开始评估的参与者能够完成评估，完成整个评估需要 10-15 分钟。受教育年限更长与所有测试的分数更高相关（p<0.001）。居住在农村地区也与表现更好相关（p<0.05）。与女性相比，男性在任何测试中的表现均与受教育程度和居住在农村地区相关（所有 p 值均>0.05）。
基于平板电脑的认知评估在尼日利亚的农村和城市环境中是可行的。在认知子测试中的更好表现与受教育程度更高和居住在农村地区相关；然而，性别与表现无关。数字化认知评估工具具有在医疗保健和教育环境中广泛应用的潜力，尤其是在城市化和教育普及程度不同的地区。
