• Federica Rossetto, Sara Isernia, Olivia Realdon, Francesca Borgnis, Valeria Blasi, Chiara Pagliari, Monia Cabinio, Margherita Alberoni, Fabrizia Mantovani, Mario Clerici, and Francesca Baglio.
• IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy.
• Ann. Med. 2023 Dec 1; 55 (1): 108010911080-1091.

PurposeThis study tested the efficacy of digital-health home intervention for people within the Alzheimer's disease (AD)-continuum.MethodsThirty people within the AD continuum were randomly assigned to a telerehabilitation (ABILITY; 6 males, Mage=78.2 ± 3.95) or treatment as usual (TAU; 8 males, Mage=77.13 ± 6.38), performing cognitive and physical activities at home for six weeks. The ABILITY intervention additionally included a digital platform enabling communication between the hospital and the patient's home. Efficiency, such as adherence, perceived fit of demands and skills, usability, and effectiveness measures, including neuropsychological level, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and autonomy in daily living, were collected before (T0), after the treatment (T1), and at the 1-year-follow-up (T2).ResultsThe ABILITY program was efficient, with a higher adherence (81% vs. 62%), a higher perceived fit of demands and skills than TAU (p<.05), and a good level of technology usability. In terms of effectiveness, a treatment effect (ABILITY > TAU) emerged on the global cognitive level, especially in language, executive functions, and memory domains. Moreover, a treatment carry-over effect (1-year follow-up) was observed in global cognitive functions (especially language) (ABILITY > TAU), behavioral symptoms, and caregiver distress (TAU > ABILITY).ConclusionsOur preliminary findings suggest that ABILITY is a promising eHealth intervention to improve at-home treatment adherence and to preserve cognitive and behavioral abilities.

15 keywords...

hide…