166Screening Tool Performed by Informal Carers, The Quick Memory Check, Correlates with Quick Screen for Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Background: Many patients may have to wait for substantial periods of time before they can receive cognitive assessment by specialist healthcare professionals. The Quick Memory Check (QMC) is a short valid screen for use in the community by informal carers of patients with the potential to improve the efficiency of clinic appointments and scope for cost-effective assessment at multiple timepoints. Methods: Informal carers of patients administered the QMC at home prior to attendance at a memory clinic at St Finbarr's Hospital, Cork, where the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (Qmci) screen and the Standardised Mini Mental State Exam (SMMSE) were administered by trained nurses. Of 220 patients who completed cognitive assessment in clinic, 150 had the QMC completed by their informal carer. The average measures intraclass correlation was calculated with SPSS version 20, using an absolute agreement, twoway mixed effects model. Results: The QMC (Section B) showed strong agreement with the Qmci screen, with an intra-class correlation of 0.78, and a 95% confidence interval of 0.71-0.84. Conclusions: The QMC represents a reliable means for patients to be screened for cognitive impairment in the home by family members. Special training is not required; the assessment can be performed by following the simple instructions provided with the QMC. Future research may help to further refine instructions for carers on completing the QMC.