Hey! My name is Nadine Mirza and I am taking part in the #GlobalScienceShow!

Today I'm showing you some questions used in #cognitivetests to see how cognitively healthy your brain is Give them a try!

And next up is @bonkers_bee

#SciencefromHome @MinoritySTEM
#DOMEProject

I'll show you guys a bunch of images, sound bites, and questions and you can let me know in the comments if you know the answer! In the end we'll tally scores!

Q1: What is this a picture of?

Q2: Can you read this word out loud?

Q3: Can you repeat this phrase after hearing me say it?

Q4: And lastly, can you answer this question?

So, how'd you score?

So some of you may not have scored the 4/4 you wanted to indicate a cognitively healthy brain. But that doesnt necessarily mean you have #dementia, which is what these questions are used to indicate.
In fact, let's try them again but with a twist.

I'm going to change the questions slightly now- they'll still assess the same concepts they're supposed to be but with slight tweaks. Give it a shot!

Q1: What is the new picture of?

Q2. Can you read this word out loud?

Q3. Can you repeat thise phrase after hearing me say it?

Q4. And finally, can you answer this question?

How'd you score this time?

Which batch of questions was easier for you- Round 1 or Round 2?

Most likely, unless you have a South Asian or Urdu speaking background, Round 1 was probably tough for you whereas you breezed through Round 2. There's a reason for that. Any guesses?

If you found Round 2 easier it was because it was matched to your cultural background and language in a way that Round 1 wasn't. You may not have #dementia but when a test isn't designed for you it may end up looking like you do.

This is what happens to ethnic minorities of Western countries, particularly non-English speaking groups. They either get misdiagnosed with #dementia when they don't have it OR clinicians assume the existence of a language and cultural barrier and their dementia is undetected.

This means we're letting ethnic minorities down BIG TIME when it comes to accurately diagnosing them because the #cognitivetests we used weren't designed for them.

Here's a quick example from a test called ACE-III where cultural differences caused misunderstanding and offense:

And here's how I fixed it!!!

I hope this thread gave you a taster of not only what kind of questions #cognitivetests ask but also the problems current tests cause for ethnic minorities.
I actually talk about it in this quick little video along with solutions for whoever is interested:

And I even wrote a quick blogpost about it here for @The_MRC

https://mrc.ukri.org/news/blog/avoiding-gibberish-when-assessing-for-dementia/?redirected-from-wordpress

I'd love to hear from you guys what you think of all this!
You can also follow #DOMEProject to see what's been done so far on both Twitter and Instagram or check out my blog: http://thealmostpsychologist.wordpress.com 

Thanks for following the #GlobalScienceShow so far- keep following for more awesome content! Next up is @bonkers_bee