TY - JOUR
T1 - eHealth tools to assess the neurological function for research, in absence of the neurologist
T2 - a systematic review, part I (software)
AU - Ferreira, Vasco Ribeiro
AU - Metting, Esther
AU - Schauble, Joshua
AU - Seddighi, Hamed
AU - Beumeler, Lise
AU - Gallo, Valentina
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Background: Neurological disorders remain a worldwide concern due to their increasing prevalence and mortality, combined with the lack of available treatment, in most cases. Exploring protective and risk factors associated with the development of neurological disorders will allow for improving prevention strategies. However, ascertaining neurological outcomes in population-based studies can be both complex and costly. The application of eHealth tools in research may contribute to lowering the costs and increase accessibility. The aim of this systematic review is to map existing eHealth tools assessing neurological signs and/or symptoms for epidemiological research. Methods: Four search engines (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus & EBSCOHost) were used to retrieve articles on the development, validation, or implementation of eHealth tools to assess neurological signs and/or symptoms. The clinical and technical properties of the software tools were summarised. Due to high numbers, only software tools are presented here. Findings: A total of 42 tools were retrieved. These captured signs and/or symptoms belonging to four neurological domains: cognitive function, motor function, cranial nerves, and gait and coordination. An additional fifth category of composite tools was added. Most of the tools were available in English and were developed for smartphone device, with the remaining tools being available as web-based platforms. Less than half of the captured tools were fully validated, and only approximately half were still active at the time of data collection. Interpretation: The identified tools often presented limitations either due to language barriers or lack of proper validation. Maintenance and durability of most tools were low. The present mapping exercise offers a detailed guide for epidemiologists to identify the most appropriate eHealth tool for their research. Funding: The current study was funded by a PhD position at the University of Groningen. No additional funding was acquired.
AB - Background: Neurological disorders remain a worldwide concern due to their increasing prevalence and mortality, combined with the lack of available treatment, in most cases. Exploring protective and risk factors associated with the development of neurological disorders will allow for improving prevention strategies. However, ascertaining neurological outcomes in population-based studies can be both complex and costly. The application of eHealth tools in research may contribute to lowering the costs and increase accessibility. The aim of this systematic review is to map existing eHealth tools assessing neurological signs and/or symptoms for epidemiological research. Methods: Four search engines (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus & EBSCOHost) were used to retrieve articles on the development, validation, or implementation of eHealth tools to assess neurological signs and/or symptoms. The clinical and technical properties of the software tools were summarised. Due to high numbers, only software tools are presented here. Findings: A total of 42 tools were retrieved. These captured signs and/or symptoms belonging to four neurological domains: cognitive function, motor function, cranial nerves, and gait and coordination. An additional fifth category of composite tools was added. Most of the tools were available in English and were developed for smartphone device, with the remaining tools being available as web-based platforms. Less than half of the captured tools were fully validated, and only approximately half were still active at the time of data collection. Interpretation: The identified tools often presented limitations either due to language barriers or lack of proper validation. Maintenance and durability of most tools were low. The present mapping exercise offers a detailed guide for epidemiologists to identify the most appropriate eHealth tool for their research. Funding: The current study was funded by a PhD position at the University of Groningen. No additional funding was acquired.
KW - eHealth
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Neurological Diseases
KW - Neurological signs
KW - Neurological symptoms
KW - Software
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174251135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00415-023-12012-6
DO - 10.1007/s00415-023-12012-6
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37847293
AN - SCOPUS:85174251135
SN - 0340-5354
VL - 271
SP - 211
EP - 230
JO - Journal of Neurology
JF - Journal of Neurology
ER -