title: Long-term maintenance of smartphone and PDA use in individuals with moderate to severe memory impairment.
abstract: In an earlier paper we described a structured, theory-driven training programme which was administered to 10 individuals with moderate-to-severe memory impairment. All individuals received an errorless-fading-of-cues protocol in the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) or smartphones (Svoboda, Richards, Leach, & Mertens, 2012) and demonstrated generalisation of acquired skills to day-to-day memory challenges. Maintenance of intervention gains over the long-term is another indicator of successful generalisation. Here we present the maintenance of device use in the same group of individuals 12 to 19 months after programme completion. A within-subject, ABABB multi-case experimental design was used to evaluate the impact of PDA or smartphone use on day-to-day memory functioning at baseline, immediately post-intervention, at return to baseline, and at short-term and long-term follow-up. Results presented here focus predominantly on long-term follow-up. All 10 individuals showed maintenance of gains in day-to-day functioning as quantified across several ecologically valid questionnaire and task-based measures. This was corroborated by family members with whom six of the participants resided. This study further demonstrates the programme's clinical effectiveness in enabling individuals with moderate-to-severe memory impairment to function more independently and with greater confidence up to 19 months following programme completion.
authors.affiliation: a Baycrest Health Sciences, Neuropsychology and Cognitive Health Program , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Svoboda
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Christie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leach
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D034201:Computers, Handheld / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Amnesia; Memory impairment; Memory intervention; Rehabilitation; Technology