There is a call to action to update neuropsychological tools to be inclusive, equitable, and relevant to diverse multicultural and multi-linguistic individuals. Neuropsychological tests and interpretive cut-offs have largely reflected homogenous cultural values, norms, and are grossly valid for Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic (WEIRD) populations. Adapting subjective and objective cognitive measures developed for non-English languages and historically marginalized cultures often do not follow international guidelines established to consider the linguistic, psychological, and cultural differences of the intended population. Limited availability of culturally sensitive tests (i.e., culturally-unbiased) and normative data that is demographically and culturally representative is a service barrier cited by neuropsychologists and clinical researchers. Further, there is an increasing need to further consider culturally diverse populations in neuropsychological research (e.g., immigrant/refugees, developing countries) and create better harmonization methods across cultures. Thus, review of available tools and further examination of the validity and reliability of existing tools to diverse clinical populations is needed. This proposed symposium broaches research in various culturally and linguistically diverse communities prone to higher exposure to health disparities and chronic health conditions. Collaborative multicultural considerations across the lifespan are described. Recommendations on advancing neuropsychological measurement within the same communities are also provided.
First, Dr. Nguyen-Martinez and colleagues summarize the existing evidence-based tools and future directions for evaluating Vietnamese children including cognitive, self-report, and informant-report measures. While the majority of measures use basic translation and back-translation methods, studies using more extensive adaptation methods and unique cultural and linguistic considerations for Vietnamese will be highlighted. Seima Al-Momani and colleagues describe clinical considerations for neuropsychological evaluations with Arabic speakers, including findings from their systematic review and clinical experiences. Their review emphasizes numerous tests have been translated to Arabic, as well as guidance on selecting measures to use given the diversity (e.g., dialect, sociopolitical context, culture) within Arab countries and diaspora. Further clinical validation of existing subjective and cognitive measures is needed to establish utility in diverse populations. Dr. Maina and colleagues examine measurement invariance between Kenyan children living with and without HIV on the Computerized Battery for Neuropsychological Evaluation of Children. Examination of factor structures between both groups highlights the need for similar approaches for cross cultural harmonization of testing protocols. Dr. Briceño and colleagues examined associations between informant-reported cognitive decline and cognitive domain performance in Hispanic/Latino/a/e/x and non-Hispanic White older adults. Their analysis highlights the need to evaluate rather than to assume measurement equivalence across culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Dr. Cohn and colleagues analyze domains of subjective cognitive concerns (self-report and informant-report measures, coded report backgrounds) in Parkinson’s disease patients born in the Anglosphere group (i.e., Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States) and immigrant patients born elsewhere (International group). This study uses archival clinical data to examine cross-cultural experiences of cognitive symptoms. Each presentation highlights key methods for using various data sources (archival, harmonized protocols, systematic review) to guide more equitable clinical practices across the lifespan.
Ashley Nguyen-Martinez, Children's Hospital Colorado/University of Colorado Medical School, Aurora, United States Caroline Ba, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, United States Nhi Pham, Fulbright University, Ho Chi MInh City, Viet Nam Halle Quang, The University of Sydney, School of Health Sciences & Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney, Australia
Seima Al-Momani, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, United States Ahmed Alhassan, University of Alabama, Birmingham, United States Madumitha Parthasarathy, Dubai British School, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Leena Saaid, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar Aimee Karstens, Mayo Clinic, Chicago, United States
Emily Briceno, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States Lisa Lewandowski-Romps, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States Nelda Garcia, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States Steven Heeringa, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States Lewis Morgenstern, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
Rachel Maina, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands Jia He, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands Amina Abubakar, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya Miguel Perez-Garcia, University of Granada, Granada, Spain Karen Blackmon, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya Manasi Kumar, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya Jelte Wicherts, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
