title: Cognitive assessments for older adults: which ones are used by Canadian therapists and why.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupational therapists routinely evaluate cognition in older adults, yet little is known about which assessments they use and for what purposes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the standardised and non-standardised assessments used by occupational therapists to evaluate cognition.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random sample of 1042 Canadian occupational therapists completed the questionnaire by e-mail, post, or Internet website (n=247, response rate: 24.5%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents reported using 75 standardised and non-standardised measures. The assessments were grouped according to theoretical approach: bottom-up (assessment of cognitive components), top-down (assessment of function) and combined (either of above, plus interview). Theoretical approaches were used similarly across regions, despite differences in reporting of particular assessments. Therapists used more bottom-up assessments that were standardised, identified deficits, and easy to administer. They used more top-down assessments that were non-standardised, predicted function, and fit with their theoretical approach.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is recommended that standardised top-down assessments be developed to support evidence-based occupational therapy.
authors.affiliation: McMaster University, School of Rehabilitation Science, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hopper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales