Assessing balance and walking of people with Parkinson's disease via telehealth.

PURPOSE: Investigate the reliability of balance and walking assessments undertaken remotely via telehealth in people with PD.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Thirty people with mild-to-moderate PD and 15 older adults performed 14 tests of balance and walking twice between 7 and 14 days: (i) in-person and (ii) remotely via videoconference. The tests included items from the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), and Timed-Up-And-Go (TUG) test simple and dual-task. We compared in-person and videoconference performances to assess intra-rater reliability and between two assessors' ratings to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Prospective fall data were collected and compared with balance and gait assessments to assess the criterion validity.

RESULTS

Specific items of BBS (items 5, 11 and 14), DGI (item 1), and TUG simple and dual-task appeared reliable and feasible for use remotely by people with mild to moderate PD. Further, specific assessment items such as 360° turning, stepping performance, pivot turning, and TUG dual-task appeared valid for assessing fall risk remotely.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide clinicians with a means of remotely assessing balance and walking in people with mild-to-moderate PD who may have difficulty accessing healthcare due to physical limitations, lack of transportation, or residing in remote and rural areas.