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A Preliminary Comparison of Three Cognitive Screening Instruments in Long Term Care: The MMSE, SLUMS, and MoCA

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 35; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/07317115.2011.626515

1545-2301

Sarah Stewart, Alisa A. O’Riley, Barry A. Edelstein, Christine E. Gould,

Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders

Abstract The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a widely utilized cognitive screening instrument. Despite its popularity, there are problems with this instrument. Many researchers have questioned the utility of the MMSE when used among adults without cognitive impairment. Additionally, the MMSE lacks tasks targeting a wider variety of cognitive domains. Finally, the MMSE is no longer in the public domain and may be too costly for some settings. Given these problems, some mental health settings may be obliged to utilize another instrument, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or the Saint Louis Mental Status Examination (SLUMS). The present pilot study examined the current literature related to the MoCA, SLUMS, and MMSE and compared performances on these measures across a sample of participants. A within-subject design was utilized to compare performance on the MMSE, MoCA, and SLUMS in a sample of 40 long-term care residents (aged 48–89). Several participants appeared to lack clinically significant cognitive deficits as assessed by the MMSE, but demonstrated clinically significant deficits as assessed by the MoCA or SLUMS. The MMSE was significantly positively correlated with both the MoCA (r = .90) and the SLUMS (r = .83). The results of this pilot study have important implications regarding how to choose an appropriate replacement for the MMSE for practitioners who utilize cognitive screening instruments. Keywords: assessmentcognitive screeningdementiamemory