Date: November 29, 2015
Hosted by: brainXchange in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the CCNA
Presented by: Margaret Crossley, PhD, R.D. Psych & Debra Morgan, PhD, RN
Summary:
Cognitive screens for Indigenous seniors must address the cultural bias of existing assessment protocols, and be developed in consultation with front-line health care workers and health managers who work with Indigenous seniors, including partners from Northern and remote settings. Clinical researchers and graduate students at the University of Saskatchewan’s Rural and Remote Memory Clinic developed the Northern Cultural Assessment of Memory (N-CAM; Crossley et al., 2011; 2012) in partnership with Keewatin Yatthé Regional Health Authority (KYRHA) Home Care Service staff and managers, in consultation with Indigenous seniors and health care staff from the Saskatoon Community Clinic, and with support from the Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre (IPHRC) and Northern Medical Services. Intended as a dementia screening protocol for Indigenous seniors, the N-CAM does not assume or require formal education or fluency in English. The protocol incorporates colourful and familiar materials, includes a story-telling component, and can be administered in the preferred language of the senior with the assistance of a bilingual family member or other caregiver. The N-CAM was designed primarily for home-based assessment by front-line health workers and includes family caregivers in the assessment of activities of daily living and changes in functional status.
Presentation Goals:
~To review the development of the N-CAM, including a summary of results from a Saskatoon inner city Indigenous community and clinical use with non English speaking patients at the Rural and Remote Memory Clinic, with reference to diagnostic criteria and behavioral indicators for cognitive impairment and dementia.
~To review the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the Caregiver Interview and Cognitive Screen components of the Northern-Cultural Assessment of Memory (N-CAM). Administration materials and scoring/interpretation guidelines can be made available to those interested in using the N-CAM in their communities.
~To include attendees in a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the N-CAM for culturally fair assessment of age-related cognitive functioning and the early detection of dementia.
