An assessment of the psychometric properties of a visual communication capacity aid

• Author / Creator

  Carr, Frances

• Decision-making is required for daily living. Specific decision-making ability in the area of finances is complex, and determining an individual’s capacity requires an in-depth assessment. In the presence of communication disorders such as aphasia, such assessments can become challenging, and require the use of communication supports.
  Unfortunately, no communication aid exists to help with the assessment of financial decision-making capacity (DMC) for persons with aphasia (PWA) (Carr, 2016). Therefore, this study sought to establish the validity, reliability and feasibility of a newly constructed visual communication aid designed to assist the assessment process of financial DMC for PWA.
  
  We conducted a mixed methods study that was divided into three Phases. Phase one was aimed at capturing the current understanding by community dwelling seniors of DMC, which included financial DMC, and communication, through the use of focus groups. The goal of Phase two was to develop a new visual communication aid to assist with the assessment of financial DMC for PWA. The third Phase aimed to establish the psychometric properties and usability of this new visual communication aid using a combination of different techniques.
  The preliminary results from this study are promising. Future research will involve testing and validating this aid in PWA to confirm its psychometric properties and how acceptable it is for use in this population.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Capacity
  • decision-making ability
  • aphasia
  • communication aid

• Graduation date

  Spring 2021

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-5ysj-h755

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.