Effectiveness of remote neuropsychological interventions: A systematic review

Abstract

Objective Remote healthcare services is an upgrowing dynamic field that has been used to reduce potential disease spread and prevent overloading of the healthcare system during COVID-19 pandemic. The need for online interventions during the pandemic required immediate response with sometimes inadequate preparation. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of remote healthcare services in the field of neuropsychological interventions. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in the electronic databases of PubMed, PsychINFO and Google Scholar. The main search terms were “remote neuropsychological intervention or training.” The included articles were RCT studies published in English, examining the effectiveness of remote healthcare services in neuropsychological interventions for adults with neurological disease diagnoses. Studies involving psychiatric disorders were excluded. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the studies and risk of bias using the PEDro Scale. Results A total of 10 studies with 2.221 participants were included. All studies concluded that remote healthcare intervention programs can be feasible, safe and effective in the rehabilitation process of neurological diseases. Discussion The present review demonstrated that the domains of neuropsychology have opportunities to forge ahead beyond traditional settings and have the ability to adapt to constantly changing environmental conditions with a view to providing patient care. Health policy plans should therefore be reformulated to include these needs in accordance with the social and cultural context of implementation.