• What types of Research Studies do we conduct?
  • Treatment Studies
  • Diagnostic Studies
  • Genetic Studies
  • Ethics & Medical Decision Making Studies
  • Instrument Validation Studies
  
  
• About Normal Controls and the PMC Cohort
• Secure Site for ADC Investigators

We conduct a series of studies aimed at understanding the psychometric properties of tests used with cognitively imparied individuals. The information gained in this work helps us in developing tools to make important decisions about the lives of persons who have difficulty making independent decisions.

Studies with data available

Are patients who
refuse interventions to help them manage their IADL disabilities capable of making this decision?
The Assessment of Capacity for Everyday Decision-Making (ACED) is the first tool available with data supporting its reliability and validity to effectively address this common clinical issue. The ACED is useful for assessing the capacity to solve functional problems of older persons with mild to moderate cognitive impairment from disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Common clinical scenarios are the person who has problem performing an IADL, such as cooking, but refuses help to manage that IADL. Is the person capable of refusing this help? The ACED provides patient specific assessments of decisional abilities needed to make that informed refusal. The ACED works well for persons with short term memory impairments since the provided summary sheet can be referred to throughout the interview.

For more information about this study, or to obtain a copy of the ACED manual with scoring criteria and supporting materials, please contact Dr. Jason Karlawish by email at jason.karlawish@uphs.upenn.edu.