Development of a symptom menu to facilitate Goal Attainment Scaling in adults with Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer's disease: a qualitative study to identify meaningful symptoms

A systematic review of goal attainment scaling implementation practices by caregivers in randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Goal attainment scaling (GAS), an established individualized, patient-centred outcome measure, is used to capture the patient's voice. Although first introduced ~60 years ago, there are few published guidelines for implementing GAS, and almost none for its use when caregivers GAS is implemented with caregiver input. We conducted a systematic review of studies that implemented GAS with caregiver input; and examined variations in GAS implementation, analysis, and reporting.

METHODS

Literature was retrieved from Medline, Embase, Cochrane, PsycInfo and CINAHL databases. We included randomized controlled trials (published between 1968 and November 2022) that used GAS as an outcome measure and involved caregiver input during goal setting.

RESULTS

Of the 2610 studies imported for screening, 21 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies employed GAS as a primary outcome. The majority (76%) had children as study participants. The most common disorders represented were cerebral palsy, developmental disorders, and dementia/Alzheimer's disease. The traditional five-point GAS scale, with levels from -2 to +2, was most often implemented, with -1 level typically being the baseline. However, most studies omitted essential GAS details from their reports including the number of goals set, number of attainment levels and whether any training was given to GAS facilitators.

CONCLUSIONS

GAS with caregiver input has been used in a limited number of randomized controlled trials, primarily in pediatric patients and adults with dementia. There is a variability in GAS implementation and many crucial details related to the specifics of GAS implementation are omitted from reports, which may limit reproducibility. Here we propose catalog that may be utilized when reporting research results pertaining to GAS with caregivers to enhance the application of this patient-centered outcome measure.

Development of a menu of recovery goals to facilitate goal setting after critical illness

OBJECTIVE

To develop an expert-informed (including end users) recovery goal menu for adults recovering from critical illness applicable to the community/home setting.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/DESIGN

Stage 1 Item generation: iterative development of domains, sub-domains, and goals in consultation with former intensive care patients, family members and expert clinicians. Stage 2 Content validity assessment: cognitive interviews and the content validity index.

SETTING

Virtual consultation meetings facilitated by the research team at King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Content validity as assessed by: the Item-Content Validity Index (I-CVI), Scale Level-Content Validity Index/Universal Agreement (S-CVI/UA) score, the Scale Level-Content Validity Index/Average (S-CVI/Ave) score and Average Content Validity Ratio (CVR).

RESULTS

Item generation resulted in a goal menu comprising 4 domains, 22 sub-domains and 95 goals assigned as follows: Self-care: 9 sub-domains with 37 goals, Productivity: 7 sub-domains with 13 goals, Leisure: 3 sub-domains with 25 goals, and Person domain 3 sub-domains with 20 goals. Cognitive interviews resulted in addition of 79 goals and modification of 7, addition of 4 new sub-domains and modification of 4, thus resulting in 4 domains, 26 sub-domains with a total of 174 goals. Twenty-four sub-domains (169 goals) were deemed relevant with Item-Content Validity Index (I-CVI) scores ranging from 0.72 to 1. Two sub-domains (5 goals) did not meet the 0.7 cut-off and were removed. The Scale Level-Content Validity Index/Universal Agreement (S-CVI/UA) score was 0.46; the Scale Level-Content Validity Index/Average (S-CVI/Ave) 0.91. Average Content Validity Ratio (CVR) was 0.93.

CONCLUSION

An expert informed recovery goal menu for former intensive care patients has been developed with excellent content validity. The final goal menu comprises 169 goals within 24 sub-domains grouped under 4 domains.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

This menu will help patients to set goals and increase our understanding of how individuals recover from critical illness.

Innovating Therapies for Down Syndrome: An International Virtual Conference of the T21 Research Society

Research focused on Down syndrome continued to gain momentum in the last several years and is advancing our understanding of how trisomy 21 (T21) modifies molecular and cellular processes. The Trisomy 21 Research Society (T21RS) is the premier scientific organization for researchers and clinicians studying Down syndrome. During the COVID pandemic, T21RS held its first virtual conference program, sponsored by the University of California at Irvine, on June 8-10, 2021 and brought together 342 scientists, families, and industry representatives from over 25 countries to share the latest discoveries on underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of T21, cognitive and behavioral changes, and comorbidities associated with Down syndrome, including Alzheimer's disease and Regression Disorder. Presentations of 91 cutting-edge abstracts reflecting neuroscience, neurology, model systems, psychology, biomarkers, and molecular and pharmacological therapeutic approaches demonstrate the compelling interest and continuing advancement toward innovating biomarkers and therapies aimed at ameliorating health conditions associated with T21.

Cognitive outcome measures for tracking Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome

Down syndrome (DS) is now viewed as a genetic type of Alzheimer's disease (AD), given the near-universal presence of AD pathology in middle adulthood and the elevated risk for developing clinical AD in DS. As the field of DS prepares for AD clinical intervention trials, there is a strong need to identify cognitive measures that are specific and sensitive to the transition from being cognitively stable to the prodromal (e.g., Mild Cognitive Impairment-Down syndrome) and clinical AD (e.g., Dementia) stages of the disease in DS. It is also important to determine cognitive measures that map onto biomarkers of early AD pathology during the transition from the preclinical to the prodromal stage of the disease, as this transition period is likely to be targeted and tracked in AD clinical trials. The present chapter discusses the current state of research on cognitive measures that could be used to screen/select study participants and as potential outcome measures in future AD clinical trials with adults with DS. In this chapter, we also identify key challenges that need to be overcome and questions that need to be addressed by the DS field as it prepares for AD clinical trials in the coming years.

Participation of persons with dementia and their caregivers in research

BACKGROUND

The National Institute on Aging, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services as part of the National Alzheimer's Project Act, convened a 2020 National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and their Caregivers. This review article addresses research participation by persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners in two different ways: as research participants with input on outcomes studied and as engaged research partners.

RESULTS

This article summarizes each of the topics presented at this Summit session, followed by reflection from the session panelists. Lee Jennings examined collection of outcomes directly from PLWD and the potential for individualized outcomes to enhance measurement in intervention trials. Ron Petersen discussed the impact of nomenclature on research and clinical care, and how and why investigators should be mindful of the connection between dementia nomenclature and the conduct of dementia research. Tabassum Majid examined strategies for engagement in research, including specific examples of involving PLWD and their care partners (including staff in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities), and the potential for this research engagement to improve our understanding of interventions in dementia.

CONCLUSIONS

Research participation by PLWD and their care partners is evolving. This review summarizes three areas of opportunity and steps for researchers to work with PLWD and their care partners to design and conduct research that enhances knowledge based on what we learn from PLWD and their care partners, and creates knowledge with them.