Developing a Culturally Competent Neuropsychological Assessment Battery for Vietnamese-speaking Patients with Suspected Dementia

Abstract

Objectives: To assemble a core battery of culturally and linguistically appropriate neuropsychological measures that can be administered to Vietnamese-speaking patients with suspected dementia.

Methods: Test instruments in Vietnamese were identified through systematic searches of PubMed, PsychInfo, and Google Scholar, and in consultation with two Vietnamese-speaking cultural brokers.

Results: A battery assessing the domains of attention, executive function, verbal and visual episodic memory, basic language abilities, visuospatial/visuoconstruction abilities, and mood/anxiety was assembled that included core measures developed either specifically for a Vietnamese-speaking population, or were validated/normed with a Vietnamese-speaking sample either in Vietnam or Vietnamese-speaking persons in the U.S. Supplemental measures were selected that can be administered using translated instructions with U.S. English normative data. The rationale for test selection and caveats for their clinical use are presented.

Conclusions: The number of neuropsychological measures identified in Vietnamese and/or with Vietnamese normative data was sparse. Given the large and growing population of Vietnamese-speaking residents in the U.S. and the aging of these communities, it is imperative to develop additional, appropriately designed and normed instruments to provide culturally competent assessments to better serve these individuals.

Keywords: Assessment; Dementia; Neuropsychology; Vietnamese.