Interrater reliability of the short-memory questionnaire in a variety of health professional representatives

✍ Scribed by Naruhiko Maki; Manabu Ikeda; Kazuhiko Hokoishi; Michie Nomura; Shiho Torikawa; Naoshi Fujimoto; Kenjiro Komori; Nobutsugu Hirono; Hirotaka Tanabe

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 64 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6230
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(200004)15:4<373::aid-gps130>3.0.co;2-t

✦ Synopsis

A study was performed to assess interrater reliability of the Japanese version of the Short-Memory Questionnaire (SMQ), which is an easily-administered, informant-based scale of cognitive function. The subjects were 18 consecutive patients with Alzheimer's disease who were outpatients of Department of Neuropsychiatry in Ehime University School of Medicine and their principal caregivers. One neuropsychiatrist (NP) administered the SMQ, and all sessions were videotaped. Then one nurse (Ns), one clinical psychologist (CP), one occupational therapist (OT), and one neurologist (NL) from another institution viewed the videotape and performed reassessments independently. Interrater reliability between the NP and Ns, CP, OT, or NL were all extremely good. Interrater reliability between the Ns and CP, between the Ns and OT, between the Ns and NL, between the CP and OT, between the CP and NL, and between the OT and NL were also extremely good. The SMQ is a convenient, quantitative scale, and in this study it showed good interrater reliability between personnel from dierent ®elds. Therefore, it is a very useful test for everyday medical consultations and for clinical research.