Evidence for the reliability and validity of a Spanish translation of the Medication Management Ability Assessment administered via tele-assessment.

We translated the Medication Management Ability Assessment (MMAA) from English to Spanish for use via tele-assessment and examined its reliability and validity. Following International Test Commission Guidelines for Translating and Adapting Tests, we used translation/back-translation and a small focus group (n = 6) to adapt a Spanish version of the MMAA. Eighty-six Spanish-speaking adults completed the adapted MMAA via tele-assessment at baseline and at a two-week follow-up visit. Participants also completed several self-report and performance-based cognitive and functional measures. The internal consistency of the MMAA was excellent (standardized Cronbach's α = 0.90). Performance-based functional assessments (PBFAs) and objective cognition were positively associated with the MMAA at small to medium effect sizes. Self-report measures of daily function and cognition, measures of health literacy, and estimates of premorbid intellectual functioning were not significantly associated with MMAA performance. The test-retest reliability of the MMAA was good (CCC = 0.73, 95% CI [0.62, 0.81]; rs = 0.37, p < 0.001) and demonstrated a small practice effect (Cohen's d = 0.36, p = 0.001). Preliminary evidence for the construct validity of a Spanish-language MMAA administered via tele-assessment further expands the potential clinical utility of PBFAs in culturally diverse, Spanish-speaking populations.

Understanding loss to follow-up in a longitudinal study of people with traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors related to attrition in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) study sample assessed up to 15 years after injury. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand twenty-eight participants with TBI who completed the year 1 follow-up assessment at a TBI Model Systems Center between 1992 and 2018. METHOD: Secondary analysis of data from a prospective longitudinal cohort study considering follow-up data collection completion status at years 1, 2, 5, 10, and 15. RESULTS: In univariable analyses, multiple factors were associated with loss to follow-up (LOFU) including being a member of a socially disadvantaged group, substance use history, residence, payor, cause of injury, and results of earlier follow-up attempts. In a multiple logistic regression analysis examining the prediction of follow-up condition at 10 or 15 years post-injury, only payor and race/ethnicity were significant predictors. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with higher odds of LOFU, and these participants often spoke Spanish and were born outside of the United States. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest a need to understand sociodemographic variables and their influence on participant attrition in longitudinal TBI research. With a better understanding of these predictors, procedures can be developed to address retention of participants who are identified as being at increased risk for study drop out.