2 results
P17: What happens if your colleague was the first person who notice that you have early-onset dementia?
- Ayako Edahiro, Tsuyoshi Okamura, Tetsuaki Arai, Takeshi Ikeuchi, Manabu Ikeda, Kumiko Utsumi, Hidetaka Ota, Tatsuyuki Kakuma, Shinobu Kawakatsu, Yoko Konagaya, Kyoko Suzuki, Satoshi Tanimukai, Kazuo Miyanaga, Shuichi Awata
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- Journal:
- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 35 / Issue S1 / December 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 February 2024, pp. 236-237
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- Article
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Objective:
A national prevalence study of early-onset dementia in Japan has provided data on their challenges and support needs, as documented by the individual and their family members. This study examined differences between 1) cases that the onset of early-onset dementia was detected by work colleagues, and 2) other cases.
Methods:After identifying medical or long-term care service offices used by people with early-onset dementia in 12 regions in Japan, a questionnaire was distributed to the individuals and their family members. The items surveyed were age at the time of the survey, gender, employment at the onset, age when the initial symptoms were detected, the person who detected the initial symptoms, and consideration received at the workplace. In this report, only those who were working at the onset were included in the analysis. Next, they were divided into two groups according to whether the person who detected the initial symptoms was a colleague or not, and a chi-square test was used to compare the two groups. This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine.
Results:Of the 1035 questionnaires collected, 559 were were working at the time of onset of initial symptoms, and 149 (26.7%) of these cases were initially detected by a colleague. Comparison between groups revealed that the cases detected by colleagues 1) were recommended to see an occupational physician (P<0.001), 2) were referred to a specialist (P<0.001), 3) received consideration such as reassignment in the workplace (P<0.001), 4) received consideration regarding transportation (P=0.023), 5) had someone to talk to in the workplace (P<0.001), and 6) were significantly unlikely to receive no consideration at all (P=0.010).
Conclusion:Early-onset dementia was noticed by a colleague due to an increase mistake in the workplace but may have received reasonable accommodations that could have been considered by each workplace. The results of this study may help to promote dementia-friendly workplace strategies.
11 Sociodemographic, Cultural, and Linguistic Considerations for Clinical Neuropsychological Assessment with Japanese and Japanese American Patients in the United States
- Daryl Fujii, Erin T. Kaseda, Aya Haneda, Hirofumi Kuroda, Sayaka Machizawa, Yoko Okamura, Kim Ono, Torricia Yamada, Nicholas S. Thaler
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 426-427
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Objective:
Japanese-Americans are the sixth largest Asian ethnicity in the United States. They represent a highly heterogeneous population due to their history of immigration dating back to the late 19th century. In comparison to the total Japanese-American population, there are very few neuropsychologists of Japanese descent who are familiar with the culture. The Asian Neuropsychological Association lists 16 licensed members of Japanese descent, and only 7 practice outside of Hawaii or California. These numbers suggest that unless non-Japanese neuropsychologists are knowledgeable of the culture, test translations, and appropriate norms, it would be challenging for many Japanese-Americans to receive culturally and linguistically competent neuropsychological services. The aim of the present study is to provide guidance for conducting neuropsychological assessments with Japanese-Americans with the goal of facilitating competent culturally-informed services to this population.
Participants and Methods:Pertinent facets of Japanese culture as identified in the ECLECTIC framework and demographics of the U.S. Japanese-American population, and the available literature on neuropsychological tests that are translated into Japanese and normed with Japanese samples, was reviewed by authors with knowledge of Japanese language and culture. Literature published in both English and Japanese were included for review.
Results:Psychological testing is a Western technology fraught with the behavioral expectations and values of the culture in which it was developed. Thus, these tests may be biased against persons coming from cultures that differ from the West. Recommendations for providing neuropsychological services to Japanese-Americans are presented with an aim of maximizing test fairness by addressing the following issues: comfort with the testing situation, test biases, accessibility, and validity. Given the emphasis on education, Japanese-Americans should be familiar and comfortable with cognitive testing, although they may experience undue pressure to perform well to avoid shame. Japanese-Americans may experience discomfort disclosing personal information during the interview, particularly if the evaluation is perceived to be psychiatric in nature, as there is a strong stigma associated with mental illness that could bring shame to the family. Japanese communication styles are indirect in nature, where the message is implied and what is “not said” is just as important as what is directly conveyed. Accessibility issues will primarily impact first generation Japanese-Americans who are native Japanese speakers. Another characteristic that may impact responding is hesitancy for guessing when unsure. Recommendations for providing culturally competent neuropsychological assessment given these considerations will be presented and expanded upon in detail. Finally, an online database of translated and normed neuropsychological tests by cognitive domain has been created and will be presented.
Conclusions:Providing neuropsychological services to Japanese-Americans can be challenging as Japanese culture is significantly different from western culture. In addition, Japanese-Americans are heterogenous with salient issues of English proficiency and acculturation. Information to individualize a conceptual understanding of Japanese-Americans, translated and normed tests, and recommendations to maximize fairness in testing are presented to assist clinical neuropsychologists provide competent services to Japanese-Americans.