Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of remote telehealth and digital monitoring telemedicine approaches in a longitudinal study of people living with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) and healthy controls (HC) via adherence rates and participant experience.

Background: Telemedicine offers promising avenues for enhanced research participation, reducing geographical and logistical constraints. However, participant burden and lack of in-person interaction are critical challenges that can affect long-term adoption, particularly for populations with motor and cognitive impairments. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of participant adherence and surveys can be used to identify factors influencing engagement and barriers to participation to inform future digital health studies.

Method: 131 participants enrolled in the remote study involving online clinical assessments via teleconferencing (quarterly; 5 sessions) and digital monitoring with independent app-based tasks on a smartwatch and smartphone (monthly; 17 sessions). Quantitative adherence data were analysed alongside technical support requests and participant-reported barriers. With study completion, participants were asked to complete an online feedback survey to assess ease of use, comfortability, and satisfaction with study protocols.

Results: For both PwP and HC, the average adherence was greater than 95% for online and digital sessions. Participants were more adherent to online sessions in comparison to digital sessions (p<0.001 PwP, p<0.05 HC). Reasons for missed visits included scheduling conflicts, health-related concerns, and difficulties with digital tools. Technical challenges included connectivity issues and device synchronization problems. PwP required more technical support compared to HC (p<0.01). Satisfaction with the frequency of researcher contact and overall study experience was high (>85%). Areas of refinement expressed through participant feedback included app-related issues and usability of accessory equipment. Digital sessions were the most favourably ranked clinical approach by participants compared to teleconferencing, in-person, and hybrid approaches.

Conclusion: The findings provide insights for designing future digital health studies, emphasising the need for participant-centred adaptations to enhance accessibility, reduce barriers, and optimise long-term telemedicine adoption in clinical research.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/feasibility-of-telemedicine-approaches-in-the-oxquip-study/