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Cross-cultural functional assessment for dementia: A commentary
Clara Calia, Freddie O’Donald, Sanne Franzen, A Alvarez, Anna J. Dreyer, Inmaculada Ibáñez-Casas, Jessica Jiang, Julia C. Daugherty et al.. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 2025-08-17
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Dementia diagnosis relies on assessing functional decline, yet widely used assessment tools are often developed in Euro-American contexts, limiting their cross-cultural validity. This commentary highlights key challenges in functional assessment across cultures and proposes a framework for enhancing their applicability and equity. We critically examine methodological limitations in current functional assessment tools, including poor cultural adaptability, inadequate validation processes, and limited stakeholder engagement. Drawing on existing literature, we propose a multidimensional framework integrating cultural perceptions, robust adaptation strategies, and participatory approaches to improve assessment relevance. Functional assessments must balance cultural specificity with broad applicability to ensure accurate dementia detection across diverse populations. Identifying transcultural markers of functional decline, engaging local communities, and systematically adapting tools through rigorous validation will enhance their diagnostic utility. A culturally inclusive approach to functional assessment can reduce disparities in dementia diagnosis and care worldwide.
Key findings
- We critically examine methodological limitations in current functional assessment tools, including poor cultural adaptability, inadequate validation processes, and limited stakeholder engagement.
- Drawing on existing literature, we propose a multidimensional framework integrating cultural perceptions, robust adaptation strategies, and participatory approaches to improve assessment relevance.
- Functional assessments must balance cultural specificity with broad applicability to ensure accurate dementia detection across diverse populations.
- Identifying transcultural markers of functional decline, engaging local communities, and systematically adapting tools through rigorous validation will enhance their diagnostic utility.
- A culturally inclusive approach to functional assessment can reduce disparities in dementia diagnosis and care worldwide.
Why it matters
This commentary argues that current tools for assessing functional decline in dementia are often developed in Euro-American contexts and may not work well across cultures. It proposes a framework to make these assessments more culturally inclusive so dementia is detected accurately in diverse populations.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 42/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Clinical Neuropsychologist) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | The Clinical Neuropsychologist: journal h-index 128 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 10 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 10 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Vaitsa Giannouli: h-index 23 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 23 institution(s) in 8 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40819654) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 42 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1080/13854046.2025.2543913
- PubMed: 40819654
- Original source →
- Free full text: EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Calia, C., O’Donald, F., Franzen, S., Alvarez, A., Dreyer, A. J., Ibáñez-Casas, I., et al. (2025). Cross-cultural functional assessment for dementia: A commentary. The Clinical Neuropsychologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2025.2543913
Vancouver
Calia C, O’Donald F, Franzen S, Alvarez A, Dreyer AJ, Ibáñez-Casas I, et al. Cross-cultural functional assessment for dementia: A commentary. The Clinical Neuropsychologist. 2025. doi:10.1080/13854046.2025.2543913. PMID: 40819654.
BibTeX
@article{calia2025-40819654,
author = {Calia, Clara and O’Donald, Freddie and Franzen, Sanne and Alvarez, A and Dreyer, Anna J. and Ibáñez-Casas, Inmaculada and Jiang, Jessica and Daugherty, Julia C. and others},
title = {{Cross-cultural functional assessment for dementia: A commentary}},
journal = {The Clinical Neuropsychologist},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1080/13854046.2025.2543913},
pmid = {40819654},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2025.2543913}
}
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