Assessment
Healthy Lifestyles in Aging, Inc. uses Dr. Folstein’s Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) for pretest evaluation and post test evaluation.
16 The MMSE is considered the 'gold standard' to test levels of memory loss associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. One reason the MMSE is used frequently are the high scores of validity.
Validity
Validity measures in content validity, predictive validity and convergent validity have been supported by numerous studies.
Content validity – screens items that are found by physicians to be useful.
MMSE measures cognitive ability in the following areas:
- Orientation to time and place
- Registration or auditory process
- Focus and calculation
- Auditory recall
- Naming
- Repetition
- Comprehension
- Reading
- Writing
- Drawing
Predictive validity – screens the utility of the assessment in that it provides validation of the existence of a condition or the absence of a condition. Thomas and MacIntyre (1992) provide evidence that the MMSE provides a good predictive validity for cortical dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. Although predictive validity is not as high when the individual demonstrates mild cognitive impairment, the predictive validity is enhanced when the serial 7’s task is used in diagnosis because poor recall and inability to focus and calculate is readily observable. Predictive validity is extremely high when the individual demonstrates moderate to severe cognitive impairment.
Convergent validity – strong association with other assessment used to screen similar condition.
Outcome Measurement
Healthy Lifestyles in Aging, Inc. uses Dr. Folstein's Mini Mental State Examination as pretest and post test to provide outcome measurement or QUANTITATIVE RESULTS. The MMSE score (30 point total) range as related to cognitive functioning level:
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normal cognitive function - score 27 to 30
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mild cognitive impairment - score 21 to 26
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moderate cognitive impairment - score 11 to 20
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severe cognitive impairment - score 0 to 10
Participants in Healthy Lifestyles in Aging, Inc.
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have shown increase as high as 20 percent demonstrating a CHANGE IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION.
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Typically, demonstrate 5 to 10 percent increase in cognitive function.