Usability study and pilot validation of a computer-based emotion recognition test for older adults with Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to carry out a pilot validation of Affect-GRADIOR, a computer-based emotion recognition test, with older adults. The study evaluated its usability, reliability and validity for the screening of people with Alzheimer´s disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). METHODS: The test was administered to 212 participants (76.37 ± 6.20 years) classified into three groups (healthy controls, n = 69; AD, n = 84; and aMCI, n = 59) on the basis of detailed neurological, neuropsychological, laboratory and neuro-imaging evidence. Data on usability were collected by means of a questionnaire and automated evaluation. RESULTS: The validated test comprised 53 stimuli and 7 practice items (one per emotion). Participants reported that Affect-GRADIOR was accessible and user-friendly. It had high internal consistency (ordinal Cronbach's α = 0.96). Test-retest reliability correlations were significant and robust (r = 0.840, p < 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis supported a seven-factor model of the emotions assessed (neutral expression, happiness, surprise, disgust, sadness, anger and fear). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses suggested that the test discriminated healthy older adults from AD and aMCI cases. Correct answer score improved MMSE predictive power from 0.547 to 0.560 (Cox & Snell R2, p = 0.012), and Affect-GRADIOR speed of processing score improved MMSE predictive power from 0.547 to 0.563 (Cox & Snell R2, p = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: Affect-GRADIOR is a valid instrument for the assessment of the facial recognition of emotions in older adults with and without cognitive impairment.

Usability Evaluation of a Private Social Network on Mental Health for Relatives.

Usability is one of the most prominent criteria that must be fulfilled by a software product. This study aims to evaluate the usability of SocialNet, a private social network for monitoring the daily progress of patients by their relatives, using a mixed usability approach: heuristic evaluation conducted by experts and user testing. A double heuristic evaluation with one expert evaluator identified the issues related to consistency, design, and privacy. User testing was conducted on 20 users and one evaluator using observation techniques and questionnaires. The main usability problems were found to be related to the structure of SocialNet, and the users presented some difficulties in locating the buttons or links. The results show a high level of usability and satisfaction with the product. This evaluation provides data on the usability of SocialNet based on the difficulties experienced by the users and the expert. The results help in redesigning the tool to resolve the identified problems as part of an iterative process.

Online interventions for caregivers of people with dementia: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The elderly population is growing driven by the increase in life expectancy, which in turn entails an increase in the number of people with chronic diseases such as dementia. The vast majority of people suffering from this illness is assisted by informal caregivers, who play a key role in fulfilling the patients’ needs, promoting the possibility for people with dementia to live in their home environment. The Internet as a support tool in psychoeducational programs can significantly improve accessibility of them, becoming a currently consolidated interactive resource for the training of patients with acute and chronic diseases, and their caregivers. POPULATION AND METHOD: A literature search of the Pubmed, PsyINFO, Scopus, SciELO and Psicodoc databases was performed to systematically review those studies related to web-based interventions for informal caregivers of people with dementia or cognitive impairment. RESULTS: On balance, the studies show a significant improvement after the psychoeducational intervention. Specifically, the improvement in caregivers’ wellbeing can be observed in the measures for self-efficacy, anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Online interventions are a promising strategy for the care of people with dementia. It would be advisable to perform further randomized trials to assess the reasons for lack of adherence to intervention, as well as usability studies to test the different software programs used.

Cyber-Neuropsychology: application of new technologies in neuropsychological evaluation.

Neuropsychological evaluation deals with the study of cerebral functioning through the persons' performance. It makes it possible to collaborate the clinical diagnosis and to provide information on deficit and skills. Specialized care in rural environments is uncommon, and often means impossibility to access some services. This study has aimed to evaluate the possibility of using neuropsychological evaluation by internet videoconferences. Our research was based on the traditional and online application of the SCIP-S to 30 subjects who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. The 30 subjects were randomly divided into two groups (Group A and B). Both groups underwent the two conditions inversely. The results show some differences and similarities when the results in both types of applications SCIP-S are compared. In conclusion, cyber-neuropsychology is possible and may be a complement and alternative to traditional assessment when they cannot develop.

Employment related barriers and facilitators for people with psychiatric disabilities in Spain.

BACKGROUND: People with mental health-related disabilities still experience difficulties in obtaining and maintaining a job. Previous international studies inform about employment barriers and facilitators but there is insufficient research in Spain. OBJECTIVE: To explore what type of employment barriers and facilitators were important for people with psychiatric disabilities with past work experiences in competitive and protected work settings. METHODS: In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews with 24 participants selected through purposive sampling. RESULTS: The personal sphere was the content most closely related to barriers, followed by the social environment. Facilitators were more closely related to the interviewees' social network, followed by elements in their personal sphere and job environment. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the need to implement supported employment services in Spain to promote hiring people with psychiatric disabilities in competitive companies. The results also indicate the need to implement new services aimed at supporting the management of disability information during the process of obtaining and maintaining a job, while there is still a need to conduct anti-stigma and anti-discrimination campaigns.

The attitudes of mental health professionals on the employability of people with mental illness: A different view limiting employment rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVES: Mental health professionals are becoming increasingly involved in the process of employment rehabilitation of persons with psychiatric disabilities. However, few studies address the attitudes of these professionals toward the employability of those with mental illness. The aim of this research was to identify differences in the attitudes of medical and non-medical mental health professionals, as well as to detect any association between attitude scores and the type of professional. METHODS: A sample of 140 employees from public and third sector mental health organizations answered a questionnaire using a scale measuring their attitudes and views on the employability of people with psychiatric disabilities. The psychometric characteristics of the scale are provided together with the variations detected in the professionals' attitudes. RESULTS: This research shows that significant differences in the attitudes between medical and non-medical mental health employees exist and that there is a need for the implementation of educational programs that may help to improve the attitudes of medical professionals toward the employability of people with mental illness. CONCLUSION: This research indicates the importance of improving the professionals' attitudes to support people attempting to return to work.

The Efficacy of Emotion Recognition Rehabilitation for People with Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: The ability to recognize emotional expression is essential for social interactions, adapting to the environment, and quality of life. Emotion recognition is impaired in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), thus rehabilitation of these skills has the potential to elicit significant benefits. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to establish whether emotion recognition capacity could be rehabilitated in people with AD. METHODS: Thirty-six participants with AD were assigned to one of three conditions: an experimental group (EG) that received 20 sessions of rehabilitation of emotion recognition and 20 sessions of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST), a control group (CG) that received 40 sessions of CST, and a treatment as usual group (TAU). RESULTS: A positive treatment effect favoring the EG was found; participants were better able to correctly identify emotions (p = 0.021), made fewer errors of commission (p = 0.002), had greater precision of processing (p = 0.021), and faster processing speed (p = 0.001). Specifically, the EG were better able to identify sadness (p = 0.016), disgust (p = 0.005), and the neutral expression (p = 0.014), with quicker processing speed for disgust (p = 0.002). These gains were maintained at one month follow-up with the exception of processing speed for surprise, which improved. CONCLUSION: Capacity to recognize facial expressions of emotions can be improved through specific rehabilitation in people with AD, and gains are still present at a one month follow up. These findings have implications for the design of rehabilitation techniques for people with AD that may lead to improved quality of life and social interactions for this population.

Atención psicológica y Tecnologías: oportunidades y conflictos / Psychological care and Technologies: opportunities and conflicts

Los desarrollos tecnológicos pueden ser un complemento a la atención tradicional, por ello primero se revisa el impacto que tiene la tecnología en la alianza de trabajo terapéutico. A continuación se señalan algunos recursos tecnológicos disponibles para la actividad psicológica, así como una clasificación de las tecnologías. Finalmente se revisan las posibles ventajas y riesgos en la aplicación de tratamiento mediados por tecnologías, así como los resultados en cuanto a efectividad.

Every time new applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are developed for psychological care. This article aims to favor the implementation of technological applications in daily practice. To do so, some advantages of the use of technologies are pointed out and the impact of technology on the alliance of therapeutic work is reviewed. Secondly, some technological resources available for psychological work are pointed out, as well a classification of such technologies. This is followed by a review of the possible risks of the application of treatments mediated by technologies. Finally, the results in terms of effectiveness are indicated. All in all, the conclusion is that ICTs are tools whose effectiveness has been proven and they can be a complement to traditional care.

Intervenciones online para cuidadores de personas con demencia: revisión sistemática / Online interventions for caregivers of people with dementia: a systematic review

Introducción. La población de edad avanzada está creciendo debido al aumento de la esperanza de vida, lo que lleva a un incremento de personas con enfermedades crónicas, como la demencia. La mayoría de la población que sufre esta enfermedad es atendida por cuidadores informales, quienes juegan un papel muy importante en el cumplimiento de las necesidades, favoreciendo que puedan seguir viviendo en su ambiente. Internet se presenta como una herramienta de apoyo a los programas de psicoeducación que mejore la accesibilidad de los mismos, estableciéndose, en la actualidad, como un recurso interactivo para la formación de pacientes con enfermedades agudas y crónicas así como a sus cuidadores. Población y método. Mediante una búsqueda bibliográfica en las bases de datos Pubmed, PsyINFO, Scopus, SciELO y Psicodoc, se revisaron sistemáticamente los estudios relativos a intervenciones basadas en internet para cuidadores informales de personas con demencia o deterioro cognitivo. Resultados. En conjunto, los estudios indican una mejoría significativa tras la intervención psicoeducativa. Concretamente, la mejora del bienestar de los cuidadores se aprecia en las medidas de autoeficacia, ansiedad y depresión. Conclusiones. Las intervenciones online constituyen una estrategia prometedora para la intervención de cuidadores de personas con demencia. Serían convenientes mayores estudios aleatorizados, que evalúen tanto los motivos de falta de adherencia a la intervención como estudios de usabilidad de los diversos programas de software empleados (AU)

Introduction. The elderly population is growing driven by the increase in life expectancy, which in turn entails an increase in the number of people with chronic diseases such as dementia. The vast majority of people suffering from this illness is assisted by informal caregivers, who play a key role in fulfilling the patients’ needs, promoting the possibility for people with dementia to live in their home environment. The Internet as a support tool in psychoeducational programs can significantly improve accessibility of them, becoming a currently consolidated interactive resource for the training of patients with acute and chronic diseases, and their caregivers. Population and method. A literature search of the Pubmed, PsyINFO, Scopus, SciELO and Psicodoc databases was performed to systematically review those studies related to web-based interventions for informal caregivers of people with dementia or cognitive impairment. Results. On balance, the studies show a significant improvement after the psychoeducational intervention. Specifically, the improvement in caregivers’ wellbeing can be observed in the measures for self-efficacy, anxiety and depression. Conclusions. Online interventions are a promising strategy for the care of people with dementia. It would be advisable to perform further randomized trials to assess the reasons for lack of adherence to intervention, as well as usability studies to test the different software programs used (AU)

Ciber-Neuropsicología: Aplicación de nuevas tecnologías en la evaluación neuropsicológica / Cyber-Neuropsychology: Application of new technologies in neuropsychological evaluation

La evaluación neuropsicológica se encarga de explorar el funcionamiento cerebral a través del rendimiento de las personas. Permite colaborar con el diagnóstico clínico y entregar información sobre déficit y habilidades. La atención especializada en entornos rurales es muy excepcional, lo que muchas veces se traduce en la imposibilidad de acceder a servicios. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue valorar la posibilidad de uso de la evaluación neuropsicológica mediante videoconferencia sustentada en internet. Para ello se aplicó el SCIP-S de forma tradicional y online a 30 sujetos con el diagnóstico de esquizofrenia. Se dividió aleatoriamente a los 30 sujetos en dos grupos (Grupo A y B), ambos grupos pasan por las dos condiciones en forma inversa. Los resultados muestran algunas diferencias y similitudes al comparar los resultados en ambos tipos de aplicaciones del SCIP-S. En conclusión, la ciber-neuropsicología es posible y puede constituir un complemento y alternativa a la valoración tradicional cuando ésta no puede desarrollarse (AU)

Neuropsychological evaluation deals with the study of cerebral functioning through the persons’ performance. It makes it possible to collaborate the clinical diagnosis and to provide information on deficit and skills. Specialized care in rural environments is uncommon, and often means impossibility to access some services. This study has aimed to evaluate the possibility of using neuropsychological evaluation by internet videoconferences. Our research was based on the traditional and online application of the SCIP-Sto 30 subjects who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. The 30 subjects were randomly divided into two groups (Group A and B). Both groups underwent the two conditions inversely. The results show some differences and similarities when the results in both types of applications SCIP-S are compared. In conclusion, cyber-neuropsychology is possible and may be a complement and alternative to traditional assessment when they cannot develop (AU)