TY - JOUR
TI - End-stage dementia spark of life: Reliability and validity of the “GATOS” questionnaire
AU - Tsoucalas, G.
AU - Bourelia, S.
AU - Kalogirou, V.
AU - Giatsiou, S.
AU - Mavrogiannaki, E.
AU - Gatos, G.
AU - Galanos, A.
AU - Repana, O.
AU - Iliadou, E.
AU - Antoniou, A.
AU - Sgantzos, M.
AU - Gatos, K.
JO - Current Alzheimer Research
PY - 2015
VL - 12
TODO - 2
SP - 179-188
PB - Bentham Science Publishers B.V.
SN - 1567-2050
TODO - 10.2174/1567205012666150204122635
TODO - Article;  criterion related validity;  dementia;  discriminant validity;  female;  human;  interrater reliability;  major clinical study;  male;  Mini Mental State Examination;  prevalence;  priority journal;  quality of life;  questionnaire;  reliability;  test retest reliability;  validity;  age;  aged;  dementia;  educational status;  employment;  mental health;  middle aged;  procedures;  reproducibility;  rural population;  terminal care;  urban population;  validation study;  very elderly, Age Factors;  Aged;  Aged, 80 and over;  Dementia;  Educational Status;  Employment;  Female;  Humans;  Male;  Mental Status Schedule;  Middle Aged;  Quality of Life;  Reproducibility of Results;  Rural Population;  Surveys and Questionnaires;  Terminal Care;  Urban Population
TODO - Background: Floor effects are present in most dementia assessment tools as dementia progresses and the in–depth assessment of patients considered more or less on vegetative state is questionable. Objective: To develop a questionnaire (the “Gatos Clinical Test-GCT”) for the assessment of end-stage demented patients. Methods: Five hundred patients with dementia of various causes and an MMSE score between 0 and 2 were enrolled in the study. The GCT consists of 14 closed type questions rated on a Likert scale. The total score is used to evaluate patient’s dementia. Various aspects of validity and reliability (including face, content and structural validity as well as test-retest reliability) were examined. Results: Three subscales “Autonomy/Alertness”, “Gnosias” and “Somatokinetic function” were defined, with a Cronbach equal to 0.851, 0.756 and 0.598 respectively. The GCT subscales and total score were statistically significant higher in patients with MMSE score 1 or 2 compared with those with MMSE score 0 (p<0.0005). Patients with GCT total score less than 12.5 had 75% probability to have zero MMSE score. Conclusion: The “GATOS” questionnaire is a valid and reliable test for patients with severe dementia, aiming at identification of those patients who could sustain some quality of life. It is a relatively short and easy to administer tool. As dementia prevalence is expected to rise further worldwide we believe that GCT could offer valuable services to health professionals, caregivers and patients. © 2015 Bentham Science Publishers.
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