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BACKGROUND: Ethnic minorities in countries such as the UK are at increased risk of dementia or minor cognitive impairment. Despite this, cognitive tests used to provide a timely diagnosis for these conditions demonstrate performance bias in these groups, because of cultural context. They require adaptation that accounts for language and culture beyond translation. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is one such test that has been adapted for multiple cultures. AIMS: We followed previously used methodology for culturally adapting cognitive tests to develop guidelines for translating and culturally adapting the MoCA. METHOD: We conducted a scoping review of publications on different versions of the MoCA. We extracted their translation and cultural adaptation procedures. We also distributed questionnaires to adaptors of the MoCA for data on the procedures they undertook to culturally adapt their respective versions. RESULTS: Our scoping review found 52 publications and highlighted seven steps for translating the MoCA. We received 17 responses from adaptors on their cultural adaptation procedures, with rationale justifying them. We combined data from the scoping review and the adaptors' feedback to form the guidelines that state how each question of the MoCA has been previously adapted for different cultural contexts and the reasoning behind it. CONCLUSIONS: This paper details our development of cultural adaptation guidelines for the MoCA that future adaptors can use to adapt the MoCA for their own languages or cultures. It also replicates methods previously used and demonstrates how these methods can be used for the cultural adaptation of other cognitive tests.
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OBJECTIVES: Our research determined whether the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Version III (ACE-III) Urdu eliminated cultural bias through a qualitative assessment of its understanding and acceptability within the British Urdu-speaking population, employing cognitive interviews. METHOD: We aimed to recruit 25 participants fluent in speaking and writing Urdu, over the age of 60 years, able to give informed consent and who did not have a history of cognitive impairment. Participants were administered the ACE-III Urdu, and cognitive interviews were conducted, which involve obtaining verbal data on the individual's perception of the assessment overall, their understanding of the mental processes behind how they interpreted questions within the assessment and how they produced appropriate responses. This allows us to gauge the participants' overall thoughts on the Urdu ACE-III before applying question-formatted prompts to every ACE-III Urdu item. RESULTS: We recruited 25 participants, 12 women (48%), ranging from ages 60 years to 85 years (M=69.12, SD=6.57), all from Greater Manchester. Participants came from varied socioeconomic backgrounds, with 22 identifying as Pakistani, one as British Pakistani and two as East African. Across 19 ACE-III Urdu items, 7 required changes based on participant feedback: item 5a: fluency; items 6, 18 and 19: memory; items 12 and 13: language; and item 17: visuospatial abilities.The need for some of these changes was realised after 21 participants, due to persistently reoccurring issues, and these were applied before the last four participants. Overall, the ACE-III Urdu was considered easy and straightforward by all 25 participants, who understood items and felt the ACE-III Urdu was appropriate, not just for them, but for British Urdu speakers in general. CONCLUSION: Our cognitive interviews determined the ACE-III Urdu was acceptable, especially with regards to cultural context, but further changes were made to ensure understanding. Therefore, we adapted the ACE-III Urdu in accordance with feedback, resulting in our finalised version being culturally validated.