Using the Internet to assess activities of daily living and hand function in people with Parkinson's disease.
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Date
2008-06-18
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Abstract
The ability to measure activities of daily living ADL and hand function for people with Parkinson s disease via an Internet based telerehabilitation system would have a significant impact on the equity accessibility and management of the condition for patients who live in rural and remote communities A low bandwidth computer based telerehabilitation system which incorporates videoconferencing with calibrated assessment tools has been recently developed at the University of Queensland This study aimed to determine the validity intra and inter rater reliability of the telerehabilitation system in measuring ADL and hand function in 12 people with Parkinson s disease ADL status was assessed using the motor component of the Functional Independence Measure FIM and selected items from the Unified Parkinson s Disease Rating Scale UPDRS The Nine Hole Peg Test Jamar dynamometer and Preston pinch gauge were also used to assess hand function For half of the participants an assessor administered assessments in the traditional face to face manner while another assessor simultaneously scored the same assessments via the telerehabilitation system For the remaining participants the telerehabilitation assessor administered the assessments via the telerehabilitation system while a face to face assessor simultaneously scored the assessments The telerehabilitation system was found to be a valid measure of ADL status and hand function in people with Parkinson s disease and to have a high level of intra and inter rater reliability all ICCs 0 80 These results suggest that therapists can confidently use a low bandwidth telerehabilitation system to assess ADL status and hand function in people with Parkinson s disease