Validity of the Japanese Version of the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA)-10 on Assessing Executive Function in Patients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).

Abstract

Background: The Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA) is one of the assessments of functional cognition, including executive function, by the cognitive instrumental activities of daily living (C-IADL). It is translated and adapted in many countries, but not in Japan. Methods: This study aimed to examine the validity of the Japanese version of the WCPA-10 (WCPA-10-J) in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI), and to explore the characteristics of cognitive strategy use among that population. Fifty-three patients with ABI aged 27-81 years and 52 healthy controls (HCs) completed the WCPA-10-J, three neuropsychological tests, and the assessment of the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Results: Results demonstrated that the WCPA-10-J was able to discriminate between the patients with ABI and the HCs. We found significant limitations in ABI patients' ability to use strategies. Concurrent, convergent, and ecological validities were partly demonstrated through correlations between the neuropsychological test scores, IADL, and the WCPA-10-J performance. Conclusions: This study provides initial evidence for the validity of the WCPA-10-J for patients with ABI and suggests the need to use performance-based tests even in patients with normal cognitive screening test results. The WCPA-10-J could provide useful information for strategy-based interventions for patients with ABI.