Elsa Caballeria1, Martina Maier2, Mercedes Balcells-Oliveró1, Hugo López-Pelayo1, Clara Oliveras1, Belén Rubio Ballester2, Paul F M J Verschure2,3, Antoni Gual1. 1. Grup Recerca Addicions Clínic (GRAC-GRE), Addictions Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic i Universitari de Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, RTA (RETICS), Villarroel, 170, Barcelona 08036, Spain. 2. Laboratory of Synthetic, Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS), Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. d'Eduard Maristany 10-14, Barcelona 08930, Spain. 3. Institució Catalana de Recerca I Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluís Companys, 23, Barcelona 08010, Spain.
Abstract
AIMS: Cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent, and it negatively impacts treatment outcome. However, this condition is neither systematically assessed nor treated. Thus, we aimed to explore the usability of a virtual reality-based protocol ('Rehabilitation Gaming System', RGS) for patients with AUD. METHODS: Twenty AUD patients (50% also cognitive impairment) underwent a single session of the RGS protocol (four cognitive training tasks, 10 minutes each). System Usability Scale (SUS) and Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) were applied to assess the RGS usability and patients' satisfaction with it. Also, the Perceived Competence Scale was administered to assess the patients' feelings of competence when using the training protocol. Comparisons of the responses to these questionnaires were performed between AUD patients with cognitive impairment and those without cognitive impairment. RESULTS: RGS usability was very positively rated (median SUS score = 80, Interquartile Range, IQR = 68.13-86-88). No significant differences were found in the median SUS scores for any of the sociodemographic or clinical variables, excepting for gender (women median score = 85; IQR = 80-94.38 vs. men median score = 71.25; IQR = 61.25-89.25; P-value = 0.035). The quality of the information provided by the RGS training scenarios and the usability were positively rated (PSSUQ), and patients experienced high feelings of competence. CONCLUSIONS: The RGS has been found to be usable in the short term and patients with AUD stated to be satisfied with it. Future larger, randomized trials are needed to explore the effectiveness of this tool to help overcome the cognitive deficits in AUD patients.
AIMS: Cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent, and it negatively impacts treatment outcome. However, this condition is neither systematically assessed nor treated. Thus, we aimed to explore the usability of a virtual reality-based protocol ('Rehabilitation Gaming System', RGS) for patients with AUD. METHODS: Twenty AUD patients (50% also cognitive impairment) underwent a single session of the RGS protocol (four cognitive training tasks, 10 minutes each). System Usability Scale (SUS) and Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) were applied to assess the RGS usability and patients' satisfaction with it. Also, the Perceived Competence Scale was administered to assess the patients' feelings of competence when using the training protocol. Comparisons of the responses to these questionnaires were performed between AUD patients with cognitive impairment and those without cognitive impairment. RESULTS: RGS usability was very positively rated (median SUS score = 80, Interquartile Range, IQR = 68.13-86-88). No significant differences were found in the median SUS scores for any of the sociodemographic or clinical variables, excepting for gender (women median score = 85; IQR = 80-94.38 vs. men median score = 71.25; IQR = 61.25-89.25; P-value = 0.035). The quality of the information provided by the RGS training scenarios and the usability were positively rated (PSSUQ), and patients experienced high feelings of competence. CONCLUSIONS: The RGS has been found to be usable in the short term and patients with AUD stated to be satisfied with it. Future larger, randomized trials are needed to explore the effectiveness of this tool to help overcome the cognitive deficits in AUD patients.