Measures of healthcare decision-making ability in cognitive aging

A scoping review from the Advancing Reliable Measurement in Cognitive Aging and Decision-Making Ability (ARMCADA) research initiative

Bibliographic Data

ID22075453
AuthorsMolly A Mather (0000-0002-6127-3892, Northwestern University, corresponding author), Berivan Ece (0000-0003-1756-9685, Northwestern University), Tatiana Karpouzian‐Rogers (0000-0003-2902-5896, Northwestern University), Tatiana Karpouzian-Rogers, Emily Ho (0000-0002-3522-3779, Northwestern University), Emily H Ho, Patricia Bucko (Northwestern University), Elizabeth M Dworak (0000-0003-4589-1663, Northwestern University), Miriam A Novack (0000-0003-0522-0371, Northwestern University), Sarah Pila (0000-0002-8070-5929, Northwestern University), Zahra Hosseinian (0000-0002-0136-5277, Northwestern University), Janel Hanmer (0000-0001-6159-2482, University of Pittsburgh), Richard Gershon (0000-0003-0085-0112, Northwestern University), Richard C Gershon, Sandra Weintraub, Sandra Weıntraub (0000-0003-2605-5205, Northwestern University)
Year2025
Volume13
Pages1582764-1582764
Publication date2025-06-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2025.1582764
PMID40575107
OpenAlexW4411253458
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited88

Introduction: Declines in decision-making (DM) ability are often observed with increasing age and pose significant risk for negative health, financial, and functional outcomes. The Advancing Reliable Measurement in Cognitive Aging and Decision-making Ability (ARMCADA) research initiative aims to improve measurement of DM ability in aging to facilitate early detection of cognitive and functional decline. This scoping review summarizes the extant literature on DM measures in aging, focusing specifically on measures relevant to healthcare decision-making (HCDM). Methods: We identified articles published between 2018 and 2023 using keywords related to DM abilities in aging populations. Titles and abstracts were first reviewed by two trained reviewers, followed by full-text review and extraction. Results of the current scoping review are reported in adherence to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Results: The scoping review identified 16,286 articles across multiple domains of decision-making, 705 of which met criteria for extraction, and 246 of which were related to healthcare decision-making. There were 86 unique measures across these articles, and 18 of these measures directly targeted decision-making ability. Most measures were administered to clinical groups in English and in-person with a trained examiner. Measures of healthcare DM ability tended to consist of semi-structured interviews or performance-based items, though there were also several self-report measures. Discussion: The most commonly used measures to assess HCDM ability require trained administration of a semi-structured interview to assess ability to reason about health-related scenarios and are often time-intensive. Creation of a streamlined, standardized measure to assess HCDM ability will benefit both research and clinical care for the aging population

Clinical decision making · Cognition · Cognitive aging · Data science · Health care · Management science · Medical decision making · Political science · Psychiatry · Computer Science · Engineering · Frailty in Older Adults · Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders · Medicine · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare · Psychology · Gerontology

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