Measurement challenges in research with individuals with cognitive impairment

This State of the Science Commentary responds to the preliminary recommendation from the National Research Summit on Dementia Care, Services and Supports for Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers to develop and identify a broad array of outcome measures (objective and subjective) that are meaningful to different stakeholders. Five significant measurement challenges that nurse scientists confront when conducting research with individuals with cognitive impairment are presented: (a) assessment of subjective memory complaints; (b) validity of self-report; (c) ecological validity of cognitive performance measures; (d) use of biomarkers (neuroimaging) for describing the biological dynamics of symptoms; and (e) effect of high variability in measurement on statistical significance. Methods for addressing these challenges are offered.