Objective: During public health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 illness pandemic, it is essential to rapidly disseminate crisis messages which often contain embedded health directives. This study investigated which of three variants of the same messages (neutral tone, positive/compassionate tone, negative/fear-inducing tone) were most likely to motivate readers to engage in the health behavior proscribed in the message. Participants: Participants were 87 female and 41 male undergraduates at an urban university in the northeast U.S. Methods: A survey with three versions of eight different COVID messages containing health directives was administered. Results: Those who indicated stronger influence of positive/compassionate crisis messages (i.e., had higher Crisis Messages Survey scores) had higher adaptive health engagement scores, lower worry scores, and were likely to have had a past diagnosis of COVID-19. Moreover, a regression model including COVID-19 status and worry scores accounted for a significant proportion of variance in Crisis Messages Survey scores. Conclusions: Findings indicate that the use of neutral and compassionate language is optimal in motivating health behaviors embedded in university crisis messages.

Objective: To identify determinants of post-Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) cognitive decline in individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Background: Pre- and post- operative neuropsychological assessments identify pre-existing cognitive deficits and determine cognitive outcome amongst PD-DBS patients. Post-operative cognitive decline is not well-defined and contributing factors are not well-understood. Declining performance on LM-Delayed Recall (LMDR) indicates memory loss and cognitive decline in PD. Design/Methods: We retrospectively reviewed PD-DBS patients who completed DBS workup, surgery and 1-year post-operative neuropsychology testing at a single center between 2015–2022. Reliable Change Indices (RCI) and Z-scores identified individual clinically significant differences in neurocognitive performance from pre- to post-DBS exams [WMS-IV Logical Memory (LM), HVLT-R, WASI-II]. Patients with clinically significant declining performance on LMDR were identified, yielding groups with and without post-operative cognitive decline. Between-group comparisons of disease features (e.g., duration, L-Dopa burden, DBS target), socio-demographic background, presence of imaging abnormalities (pre- and post-DBS), assessment modality (telehealth vs in-office), and cognitive diagnosis (amnestic vs non-amnestic MCI), were made using t-tests, chi square, and regression analyses. Results: 62 subjects completed pre- and post-DBS neuropsychological testing. N=18 were excluded (n=8 without PD, n=3 non-English speakers, 7 without pre- and post-WMS-IV testing). Amongst 44 included subjects, there was statistically significant decline in FAS and Animals trials (p <.001, p < .001). N=8 (18%) declined on >1 neurocognitive trials, including LMDR. Between groups with and without cognitive decline, there were no additional significant differences in the assessed baseline variables. N=5 (14%) in the cognitively stable group vs. n=6 (75%) in the cognitively worsened group had postoperative imaging abnormalities (p=0.013) with either edema or hemorrhage. Conclusions: 18% of PD-DBS patients declined cognitively after surgery. Despite exploring features at both the group and individual levels, no predictors were found, whereas peri- or post-operative factors may contribute. Disclosure: Miss St Clair has nothing to disclose. Ms. Magee has nothing to disclose. Christina Palmese has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for Bracket Global LLC. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for St. Jude Medical, Inc. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Teva. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Revance. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Medtronic. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Spark Therapeutics. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Abbvie. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Alpha Omega. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for BlueRock Therapeutics. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for PhotoPharmics. The institution of Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received research support from Michael J Fox Foundation. The institution of Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received research support from Amneal. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Faculty with Movement Disorders Society. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Faculty with American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Grant Reviewer with Parkinson Foundation. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant on Research Grant with Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $0-$499 for serving as a Speaker with Tourette Association of America. Dr. Jimenez Shahed has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Speaker with NACCME.

There is a pressing need to integrate mobile technology into the treatment of common mental health problems of later life such as anxiety and depression. However, adults over the age of 65 vary greatly in their mastery of smartphones. This study characterizes an older community-dwelling sample in terms of their varying levels of demonstrated smartphone expertise relative to anxiety, depression, and self-perceived proficiency in using technological (tech) devices. A 20-step behavioral smartphone challenge task, the Smartphone Task for Older Adults, was used to evaluate older adults’ knowledge of a range of smartphone functions. Findings diverge in potentially meaningful ways from previous studies using self-report measures of tech expertise. Scores on the task were relatively low and partly replicated the digital divide, but also indicate negative relations of demonstrated smartphone expertise with specific variants of anxiety and in-vivo frustration, rather than anxiety or depression more generally. Tech-related anxiety and frustration while attempting new smartphone functions may characterize the current cohort of older adults who have not effectively mastered use of smartphones. Implications for smartphone training tailored to this older subgroup are discussed.

OBJECTIVES:Older adults vary greatly in their mastery of state-of-the-art smartphones. Anxiety may function as a barrier to technological expertise. This study characterizes an older community-dwelling sample (n = 71) in terms of their levels of demonstrated smartphone expertise relative to variants of anxiety (e.g., trait, social, tech-related). METHODS:A 20-step behavioral smartphone challenge task, the Smartphone Task for Older Adults (STOA), was used to evaluate older adults' knowledge of a range of smartphone functions. Self-report measures of anxiety symptoms and perceived digital proficiency were also administered. RESULTS:STOA scores were relatively low (x = 8.26, s.d. = 5.65) and showed negative relations with tech-anxiety and in-vivo frustration, but not social or trait anxiety. A hierarchical regression model indicated that tech-related anxiety and in-vivo frustration contributed significantly to STOA scores, above and beyond established predictors such as education. CONCLUSIONS:Tech-anxiety and frustration while learning new smartphone functions may characterize the next cohort of older adults who have not effectively mastered the use of smartphones. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS:Anxiety management skills derived from cognitive behavior therapy and other self-regulation tools could help those who experience tech-anxiety or frustration during smartphone training, facilitating the development of expertise.