A Systematic Review of Neuropsychological Tests for the Assessment of Dementia in Non-Western, Low-Educated or Illiterate Populations


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Franzen S., van den Berg E., Goudsmit M., Jurgens C. K., van de Wiel L., Kalkisim Y., ...Daha Fazla

JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY, cilt.26, sa.3, ss.331-351, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Derleme
  • Cilt numarası: 26 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2020
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1017/s1355617719000894
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Applied Science & Technology Source, EMBASE, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.331-351
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Objective: Neuropsychological tests are important instruments to determine a cognitive profile, giving insight into the etiology of dementia; however, these tests cannot readily be used in culturally diverse, low-educated populations, due to their dependence upon (Western) culture, education, and literacy. In this review we aim to give an overview of studies investigating domain-specific cognitive tests used to assess dementia in non-Western, low-educated populations. The second aim was to examine the quality of these studies and of the adaptations for culturally, linguistically, and educationally diverse populations. Method: A systematic review was performed using six databases, without restrictions on the year or language of publication. Results: Forty-four studies were included, stemming mainly from Brazil, Hong Kong, Korea, and considering Hispanics/Latinos residing in the USA. Most studies focused on Alzheimer's disease (n = 17) or unspecified dementia (n = 16). Memory (n = 18) was studied most often, using 14 different tests. The traditional Western tests in the domains of attention (n = 8) and construction (n = 15), were unsuitable for low-educated patients. There was little variety in instruments measuring executive functioning (two tests, n = 13), and language (n = 12, of which 10 were naming tests). Many studies did not report a thorough adaptation procedure (n = 39) or blinding procedures (n = 29). Conclusions: Various formats of memory tests seem suitable for low-educated, non-Western populations. Promising tasks in other cognitive domains are the Stick Design Test, Five Digit Test, and verbal fluency test. Further research is needed regarding cross-cultural instruments measuring executive functioning and language in low-educated people.