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Reliability of the Blessed Telephone Information-Memory-Concentration Test
C Kawas1, H Karagiozis, L Resau
1Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
|October 1, 1995
Summary
The Blessed Telephone Information-Memory-Concentration (TIMC) test shows excellent reliability for assessing cognitive status. This telephone-administered tool is a practical option for large-scale and longitudinal studies.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Epidemiology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- In-person cognitive evaluations are resource-intensive for widespread populations.
- Reliable telephone screening tools are needed for large-scale and longitudinal studies.
- The Blessed Information-Memory-Concentration (IMC) test is a standard cognitive assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the reliability of the Blessed IMC test when administered via telephone.
- To determine if telephone administration is a viable alternative to in-person assessments.
- To assess the test-retest reliability of the telephone-administered Blessed IMC.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-four subjects with varying cognitive abilities participated.
- The Blessed IMC was administered twice over three weeks.
- Comparisons included telephone vs. in-person and telephone test-retest reliability using Spearman's rank correlation.
Main Results:
- Spearman's rank correlation demonstrated excellent agreement between telephone and in-person administrations (.96).
- Test-retest reliability for the telephone-administered test was also excellent (.96).
- The Blessed Telephone IMC (TIMC) test showed high reliability in all comparisons.
Conclusions:
- The Blessed TIMC test is a reliable and practical instrument for cognitive screening.
- It offers a feasible alternative to in-person assessments in population and longitudinal studies.
- The TIMC facilitates cognitive status evaluation when in-person testing is not practical.