Developed by Gelinas, the Disability Assessment for Dementia evaluates the basic and instrumental activities in daily activities of elderly people with dementia. The proxy-respondent scale specifically measures daily living tasks in terms of executive functions.
A 40-item scale is part of the DAD which addresses a range of functional domains: eating, meal preparation, telephoning, hygienic, dressing, medication, corresponding, finance, leisure, and housework. Approximately 15-20 minutes to administer.
Author
Reliability and Validity
Established clinical as a measure for dementia, the DAD has strong reliability. Internal Consistency Coefficient is reported at 0.96, the intraclass correlation reported at 0.96, and the test-retest reliability also has excellent ratings (Gelinas, 2000). The convergent validity for the DAD is supported through the instrument’s correlation with such psychometric measure as the Global Deterioration Scale (Gelinas, 1999). Several experiments have been carried out with the DAD evaluating moderate to sever impairment (Blesa, 2003; Feldman, 2001; Feldman, 2003; Raskind , 2000; Wilcock, 2000)
Obtaining the DAD
http://www.dementia-assessment.com.au/
References
Gelinas, I., Gauthier, L. & McIntyre, M. (1999) Development of a functional measure for persons with Alzheimer’s disease: the Disability Assessment for Dementia. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 53, 471-481.
Hodkinson, H. (1972) Evaluation of a mental test score for assessment of mental impairment in the elderly. Age and Ageing, 1, 233-238
Hughes, C. P., Berg, L., Danziger, W. L., et al (1982) A new clinical scale for the staging of dementia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 566-572
Teunisse, S., Derix, M. M. & van Crevel, H. (1991) Assessing the severity of dementia. Archives of Neurology, 48, 274-277
Dissertations and Journals
Feldman, H.; Sauter, A.; Gelina, I.; Gauthier, S.; Torfs, K.; Parys, W.; Mehnert, A. (2001). The Disability for Dementia Scale: a 12-Month Study of Functional Ability In Mild to Moderate Severity Alzheimer Disease. Alzheimer disease and Associated Disorders, Vol. 15, Issue 2, pp 89-95.
Wilcock, Gordon K.; Lilenfeld, Sean; Gaens, Els (2000). Efficacy and safety of galantamine in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease: multicentre randomized controlled trial. BMJ, 321: 1445.
