Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the British Sign Language Cognitive Screening Tool Into Australian...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychometrics
• Gerontology

Background:

• Cognitive screening tools are crucial for early detection of cognitive decline in aging populations.
• Existing tools like the British Sign Language Cognitive Screening Test (BSL-CST) are culturally specific and not suitable for other sign language users.
• There is a need for a culturally appropriate cognitive screening tool for Australian Sign Language (Auslan) users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To translate and adapt the BSL-CST into Auslan, creating the Auslan-CST.
• To establish the preliminary psychometric properties of the Auslan-CST.
• To ensure diagnostic accuracy for deaf Auslan signing older adults.

Main Methods:

• The Auslan-CST was developed using evidence-based translation standards and expert consultation with deaf Auslan signers and interpreters.
• A pilot study was conducted with 20 Auslan signing older adults.
• The finalized Auslan-CST was administered to 100 healthy older deaf adults for normative data and retested for reliability. Nine deaf older adults with cognitive decline were assessed for clinical discrimination.

Main Results:

• The Auslan-CST demonstrated high test-retest reliability (Cronbach's α=0.940) and good internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.799).
• The tool showed moderate-to-strong convergent validity with other cognitive measures (r_s > 0.3 to < 0.6).
• Excellent clinical discrimination was observed (AUC=1.00), with a proposed cut-off score of <71.50 for dementia screening.

Conclusions:

• The Auslan-CST is the first culturally aligned cognitive screening tool for deaf Auslan signing older adults in Australia.
• The tool exhibits promising preliminary psychometric properties.
• Early findings indicate the Auslan-CST is an effective screen for cognitive impairment in this population.