Psychometric assessment of the translated and culturally adapted Chinese (Cantonese) of the brief memory and executive test in people with stroke.

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, with up to half of people with stroke developing persistent cognitive deficits. The brief memory and executive test (BMET) was developed to provide a comprehensive cognitive assessment, with a focus on executive function and processing speed. However, the psychometric properties of the BMET have not yet been studied in people with stroke.

Aim: This study aimed to: 1) translate and culturally adapt the BMET into Chinese (Cantonese) (C-BMET); 2) compare the C-BMET scores of people with stroke with those of healthy old adults; 3) examine the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, minimal detectable change (MDC), and standard error of measurement (SEM) of the C-BMET in people with stroke; 4) investigate correlations between C-BMET scores and other cognitive and functional outcomes; and 5) determine the C-BMET cut-off score of C-BMET to differentiate the cognitive functions in people with stroke from that of healthy old adults.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Research lab in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Population: People with stroke over 12 months.

Methods: Sixty people with stroke and 27 healthy old adults underwent C-BMET and other cognitive and functional outcomes. To examine the test-retest reliability of the C-BMET, it was re-administered to the stroke group after 7 days.

Results: People with stroke had significantly lower C-BMET subtotal and total scores compared to healthy old adults. The internal consistency, as indicated by Cronbach's α of 0.652, and the test-retest reliability, reflected by an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.604, were observed, with an MDC of 4.13 and a SEM of 1.49. The C-BMET scores were significantly correlated with other cognitive outcomes but not with functional outcomes. The optimal cut-off score of C-BMET to differentiate the cognitive functions in people with stroke from that of the and healthy old adults was 12.5 (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.728).

Conclusions: The C-BMET scores were significantly lower in people with stroke compared with healthy old adults. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability of C-BMET scores were investigated. The C-BMET scores were significantly correlated with cognitive outcomes. The optimal C-BMET cut-off score of 12.5 was identified.

Clinical rehabilitation impact: The C-BMET may be considered for assessing the cognitive function, especially executive function and processing speed, of people with stroke.