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Towards an Equitable Approach to Multilingual Language Assessment in Dementia Care
Eduardo Europa, Eugenie Mamuyac, Ivan Paul Bondoc, Angela A. Costales, Bernardine Santos, Jairei Alexis A. Olarte, Jessica de Leon. Topics in Language Disorders, 2026-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Health disparities in dementia care are amplified among aging multilingual communities relative to their monolingual English-speaking counterparts, as social determinants of health and significant gaps in culturally responsive practice can contribute to misdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, and delays in intervention. This article highlights the need for equitable, culturally responsive approaches to multilingual language assessment in dementia care. The first section presents critical considerations for multilingual language assessment using 2 relevant clinical approaches: the Cross-Linguistic Assessment Framework for Bilingual Aphasia and the ECLECTIC framework. The second section presents a case report describing culturally responsive assessment practice with a Tagalog-English speaker with dementia, including the first clinical application of the Cognitive Assessment for Tagalog Speakers Batterys, a culturally and linguistically adapted tool for detecting changes in language and cognition in Tagalog-speaking adults. The third section concludes with a discussion of the case report alongside concrete evidence-based recommendations. By adopting culturally responsive assessment practices, clinicians can develop person-centered communication goals and provide equitable dementia care to all individuals.
Key findings
- Health disparities in dementia care are amplified among aging multilingual communities relative to their monolingual English-speaking counterparts, as social determinants of health and significant gaps in culturally responsive practice can contribute to misdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, and delays in intervention.
- The third section concludes with a discussion of the case report alongside concrete evidence-based recommendations.
Why it matters
This case report describes using culturally adapted language assessment with one Tagalog-English speaker, so it cannot show whether such approaches improve dementia outcomes generally. It argues that culturally responsive assessment may reduce misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis in multilingual communities.
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Study details
- Study designcase report
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 33/100
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. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 32 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 33 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Topics in Language Disorders) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Topics in Language Disorders: journal h-index 81 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “case report”, which our rubric does not rank (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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.7× 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 | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Jessica de Leon holds only 2 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Toronto: institution h-index 1,923 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 32 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 32 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 33 out of 100. |
| Total | 33 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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 names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Europa, E., Mamuyac, E., Bondoc, I. P., Costales, A. A., Santos, B., Olarte, J. A. A., et al. (2026). Towards an Equitable Approach to Multilingual Language Assessment in Dementia Care. Topics in Language Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1097/tld.0000000000000387
Vancouver
Europa E, Mamuyac E, Bondoc IP, Costales AA, Santos B, Olarte JAA, et al. Towards an Equitable Approach to Multilingual Language Assessment in Dementia Care. Topics in Language Disorders. 2026. doi:10.1097/tld.0000000000000387.
BibTeX
@article{europa2026-4fab00e8,
author = {Europa, Eduardo and Mamuyac, Eugenie and Bondoc, Ivan Paul and Costales, Angela A. and Santos, Bernardine and Olarte, Jairei Alexis A. and de Leon, Jessica},
title = {{Towards an Equitable Approach to Multilingual Language Assessment in Dementia Care}},
journal = {Topics in Language Disorders},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1097/tld.0000000000000387},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/tld.0000000000000387}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.