The psychometric viability of measures of functional performance commonly employed for older adults with dementia: a systematic review of measurement properties protocol

Abstract

In 2010, it was estimated that globally over 35 million people were living with a diagnosis of dementia, equating to 21% of the population aged 60 years or older, with this figure projected to rise to over 115 million people by 2050.1 In the same year, nearly 7.7 million new cases of dementia were diagnosed, an average of one every four seconds, leading to an estimated financial impact of $604 billion, and over 1% of Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) worldwide.1 A source of major concern within the Australian health and aged care system, dementia is receiving much attention from the government, researchers and health workers alike. In 2011, it was estimated that almost 300,000 Australians were living with a diagnosis of dementia, accounting for almost 1.5% of the total population and approximately 9% of older adults (>65years of age). In 2011 alone, 63,300 people were diagnosed with dementia, equating to nearly seven people every hour, with dementia having a direct cost to the Australian Government of $2 billion annually.2 In the next two decades, dementia will be become the third highest source of health and residential aged care spending, equating to almost 1% of GDP.3 In the next 30 years, the number of Australian adults with dementia is expected to rise to 900,000.2 Consequently, considerable strain on the health and aged care sectors is to be expected.