Interrater reliability of the short-memory questionnaire in a variety of health professional representatives.
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 different fields. Therefore, it is a very useful test for everyday medical consultations and for clinical research.
Maki
N
N
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Ehime University School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan. mikeda@m.ehime-u.ac.jp
Ikeda
M
M
Hokoishi
K
K
Nomura
M
M
Torikawa
S
S
Fujimoto
N
N
Komori
K
K
Hirono
N
N
Tanabe
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009462:Neurology / Q000592:standards; D015588:Observer Variation; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000592:standards; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000592:standards; D011586:Psychology, Clinical / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014177:Translations