TY - JOUR
T1 - A hindi version of the MMSE
T2 - The development of a cognitive screening instrument for a largely illiterate rural elderly population in india
AU - Ganguli, Mary
AU - Ratcliff, Graham
AU - Chandra, Vijay
AU - Sharma, Sujatha
AU - Gilby, Joanne
AU - Pandav, Rajesh
AU - Belle, Steven
AU - Ryan, Christopher
AU - Baker, Carol
AU - Seaberg, Eric
AU - Dekosky, Steven
PY - 1995/5
Y1 - 1995/5
N2 - The Indo‐US Cross‐National Dementia Epidemiology Study seeks to compare two rural populations, in the US and India: the Monongahela Valley, a rural community of relatively low socioeconomic status in southwestern Pennsylvania (USA), and Ballabgarh, a rural community near New Delhi in North India. Of Particular interest is the fact that the Ballabgarh elderly population is exclusively Hindi‐speaking, has little or no education and is largely illiterate, rendering its cognitive screening a particular challenge. In this article we report methods and preliminary data on the development of a Hindi cognitive screening instrument suitable for the Ballabgarh elderly population. We use as an example our Hindi adaptation of the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), a widely used global cognitive screening scale. Systematic, item‐by‐item, empirically based test development has shown that effective modifications can be made to existing tests that require reading and writing; and that culturally sensitive modifications can be made to render the test meaningful and relevant while still tapping the appropriate cognitive domains. Certain cognitive functions, particularly orientation to time, remain difficult to test adequately in this type of population. In Ballabgarh, as in the Monongahela Valley, educated individuals obtain higher test scores. Implications for dementia screening are discussed, including those relevant to the hypothesis that low education predisposes to dementia.
AB - The Indo‐US Cross‐National Dementia Epidemiology Study seeks to compare two rural populations, in the US and India: the Monongahela Valley, a rural community of relatively low socioeconomic status in southwestern Pennsylvania (USA), and Ballabgarh, a rural community near New Delhi in North India. Of Particular interest is the fact that the Ballabgarh elderly population is exclusively Hindi‐speaking, has little or no education and is largely illiterate, rendering its cognitive screening a particular challenge. In this article we report methods and preliminary data on the development of a Hindi cognitive screening instrument suitable for the Ballabgarh elderly population. We use as an example our Hindi adaptation of the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), a widely used global cognitive screening scale. Systematic, item‐by‐item, empirically based test development has shown that effective modifications can be made to existing tests that require reading and writing; and that culturally sensitive modifications can be made to render the test meaningful and relevant while still tapping the appropriate cognitive domains. Certain cognitive functions, particularly orientation to time, remain difficult to test adequately in this type of population. In Ballabgarh, as in the Monongahela Valley, educated individuals obtain higher test scores. Implications for dementia screening are discussed, including those relevant to the hypothesis that low education predisposes to dementia.
KW - ageing
KW - cross‐cultural research
KW - dementia epidemiology
KW - neuropsychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0029067940&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0029067940&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/gps.930100505
DO - 10.1002/gps.930100505
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0029067940
SN - 0885-6230
VL - 10
SP - 367
EP - 377
JO - International journal of geriatric psychiatry
JF - International journal of geriatric psychiatry
IS - 5
ER -