Exploring the reliability and acceptability of cognitive tests for Indigenous Australians: a pilot study.

Download
Author
Dingwall, KM; Gray, AO; McCarthy, AR; Delima, JF; Bowden, SCDate
2017-08-02Source Title
BMC PsychologyPublisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLCUniversity of Melbourne Author/s
Bowden, StephenAffiliation
Melbourne School of Psychological SciencesMetadata
Show full item recordDocument Type
Journal ArticleCitations
Dingwall, K. M., Gray, A. O., McCarthy, A. R., Delima, J. F. & Bowden, S. C. (2017). Exploring the reliability and acceptability of cognitive tests for Indigenous Australians: a pilot study.. BMC Psychol, 5 (1), pp.26-. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-017-0195-y.Access Status
Open AccessOpen Access at PMC
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5541699Abstract
BACKGROUND: Reliable cognitive assessment for Indigenous Australians is difficult given that mainstream tests typically rely on Western concepts, content and values. A test's psychometric properties should therefore be assessed prior to use in other cultures. The aim of this pilot study was to examine the reliability and acceptability of four cognitive tests for Australian Aboriginal people. METHODS: Participants were 40 male and 44 female (N = 84) Aboriginal patients from Alice Springs Hospital. Four tests were assessed for reliability and acceptability - Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Screen (RUDAS) (n = 19), PEBL Corsi Blocks (Corsi) (n = 19), Story Memory Recall Test (SMRT) (n = 17) and a CogState battery (n = 18). Participants performed one to three of the tests with repeated assessment to determine test-retest reliability. Qualitative interviews were conducted and analysed based on an adapted phenomenological approach to explore test acceptability. An Indigenous Reference Group gave advice and guidance. RESULTS: Intra-class correlations (ICC) for test retest reliability ranged from r = 0.58 (CogState One Back accuracy) to 0.86 (RUDAS). Themes emerged relating to general impressions, impacts on understanding and performance, appropriateness, task preferences and suggested improvements. CONCLUSIONS: RUDAS, CogState Identification task, and SMRT showed the highest reliabilities. Overall the tests were viewed as a positive challenge and an opportunity to learn about the brain despite provoking some anxiety in the patients. Caveats for test acceptability included issues related to language, impacts of convalescence and cultural relevance.
Export Reference in RIS Format
Endnote
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".
Refworks
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References