Adapting Cognitive Assessment Tools to Indigenous Cultural Contexts

Presentation of a research project as part of the "Jeudis de la Maison Suger", a residents' research seminar.

This session will feature Benjamin Boller in a discussion on adapting cognitive tests to Indigenous cultural contexts. He will address methodological challenges, the risks of diagnostic bias, and the prospects for co-constructing culturally sensitive assessment tools.

Presentation of the project

"This presentation will explore the foundations and key challenges involved in developing cognitive assessment tools adapted to ageing Indigenous populations. It builds on methodological considerations developed through a Franco-Quebecois collaboration and forms part of a broader project dedicated to the development of culturally sensitive tools for the Attikamek and Abenaki communities of Mauricie and Central Québec.

Drawing on the observation that standardised neuropsychological tests often fail to take into account the linguistic, cultural and contextual specificities of Indigenous peoples, the presentation will examine the risks of diagnostic bias and their resulting clinical and social consequences. It will also present the preliminary results of a protocol registered on OSF for a systematic review of tools developed or adapted for Indigenous populations in North America, South America and Oceania. This review highlights the considerable heterogeneity of existing instruments, as well as the importance of adaptation processes carried out in close collaboration with communities.

Finally, the presentation will outline the methodological steps envisaged for the future development of locally anchored cognitive tests, emphasising the essential role of co-construction, cultural validity and community acceptability in improving the screening and understanding of cognitive ageing in these populations."

Speaker

Benjamin Boller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Québec at Trois-Rivières and a researcher at the Research Centre of the Montréal University Institute of Geriatrics. After completing a PhD in Psychology at Paris Descartes University, where his research focused on memory processes in Alzheimer’s disease, he pursued postdoctoral studies in neuropsychology at the University of Montréal, examining the impact of cognitive intervention programmes in individuals with subjective cognitive decline. His current research focuses on normal and pathological cognitive ageing, with particular attention to factors that modulate the effects of age on the brain and cognition, as well as the development of innovative interventions aimed at preventing cognitive decline.