Development and validation of Riga Cognitive Assesment Task (RiTa)

The project strives to develop an innovative cognitive screening tool for detecting symptoms of mild cognitive decline (MCI) and/or dementia that would take into consideration not only the current cognitive status, but also the risk and protective (cognitive reserve) factors of the patient, thus creating a more personalized approach to screening assessment. The aim of the study is to generate test items, develop and validate a cognitive screening tool for identifying symptoms of MCI and dementia. To achieve the goal, the following objectives have been proposed: (1) to identify the test domains and generate test items; (2) to assess the content and face validity of the generated item pool; (3) to pre-test the pool of items; (4) to conduct a pilot study; (5) to analyse the psychometric properties of the items for item reduction; (6) and (7) to evaluate the criterion and construct validity of the Riga Cognitive Screening Task (RiTa). These objectives will be achieved through systematic and in-depth studies, including conducting scoping reviews and exploratory studies using population-based data, as well as conducting expert and end-user interviews and a pilot study. On a political level, the expected outcomes will be psychometrically tested tool for early MCI and dementia symptom detection allowing to reduce overall health care expenses, while the society will gain a more personalised approach towards their symptoms from their clinicians and psychologists.