Going From Zero to 100 in Remote Dementia Research: A Practical Guide (Preprint)

Abstract

UNSTRUCTURED Remote approaches for dementia research are required in the era of COVID-19, but moving a research program from in-person to remote involves additional considerations. We recommend use of outcome measures that have psychometric properties for remote delivery, and we recommend against adapting in-person scales for remote delivery without evidence for psychometric equivalency. We suggest remote research designs that maximize benefit for participants, which could have implications for control groups. We recommend researchers plan for flexibility in their methods for remote research, and do not assume all participants will be able to videoconference; telephone-only research is possible. We recommend performing an assessment of information communication technology infrastructure and prior exposure to this technology with each participant before making a final choice on remote methods for research. In general, we advise researchers to adapt their methods for remote research to each participant rather than requesting participants adapt to the researchers. We recommend screening for sensory loss and consider the impact on use of technology for remote research. We detail how individualized training is required prior to engaging in remote research, and we detail how training plans interact with cognitive impairments. Finally, we detail the steps involved in facilitating technology-based remote data collection.