Will senior adults accept being cognitively assessed by a conversational agent? a user-interaction pilot study

Abstract

Background: early detection of dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) have an utmost significance nowadays, and smart conversational agents are becoming more and more capable. DigiMoCA, an Alexa-based voice application for the screening of MCI, was developed and tested.

Objective: to evaluate the acceptability and usability of DigiMoCA, considering the perception of end-users and cognitive assessment administrators, through standard evaluation questionnaires.

Method: a sample of 46 individuals and 24 evaluators participated in this study. End-users were fairly heterogeneous considering demographic and neuro-psychological characteristics. Evaluators were mostly health and social care professionals, relatively well-balanced in terms of gender, career background and years of experience.

Results: end-users acceptability ratings were generally positive (rating above 3 in a 5-point scale for all dimensions) and it improved significantly after the interaction with DigiMoCA. Administrators also rated the usability of DigiMoCA, with an average score of 5.86/7 and with high internal consistency (α = 0.95).

Conclusion: although there is still room for improvement in terms of user satisfaction and voice interface, DigiMoCA is perceived as an acceptable, accessible and usable cognitive screening tool, both by individuals being tested and test administrators.