Agreement Between In-Person and Telephone Application of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the...

Remote cognitive assessment has gained prominence due to limited access to in-person services. The purpose was to investigate the agreement between in-person and telephone administration of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE).

For this methodological study, the IQCODE was administered to the caregiver or family member of the older adults in-person and by telephone. The order of the administration modalities was randomized, with the assessments conducted 5-7 days apart. Each participant was assessed by two different and previously trained researchers, who were blinded to the previous assessment. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the level of agreement between the total and item scores obtained using the two methods.

The study included 51 individuals. There were no statistically significant differences between the two methods (p = 0.227). Regarding the total score, a high ICC (ICC = 0.74) was observed. Regarding the items, the ICCs ranged from 0.17 to 0.98, representing low to high agreement.

The telephone assessment of the IQCODE showed adequate agreement with the in-person assessment for evaluating cognitive decline in older adults. Therefore, telephone-based assessments may be used in clinical and research settings via telephone interviews, expanding access to cognitive assessment and contributing to more inclusive care strategies.