The Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite or DOMS is a compendium of validated tools for the assessment of various aspects of dementia by health care professionals.
The DOMS project was originally commissioned under the Australian government’s National Dementia Initiative, and was designed to develop a standard suite of instruments that would be promulgated throughout Australia to encourage clinicians to ‘talk the same language’ by using the same instruments as much as possible.
The content of the full comprehensive review was translated into a user-friendly website format in 2009. In 2016, the website was updated with an increased focus on clinical practice and a wider coverage of:
- different types of dementia, including frontotemporal dementia
- severities of impairment, including mild cognitive impairment
- clinical settings, including primary care versus specialist clinics
- assessment modalities, including performance-based measures of function
The rating scheme was updated to reflect these changes and included greater emphasis on clinically-relevant psychometrics. The scope has also been expanded to an international audience.
Dementia outcome measures help clinicians assess important changes in people with dementia. Such measures may be used to:
- screen for early signs of dementia,
- monitor the progression of symptoms or the effect of treatment in patients known to have dementia or
- assist in service planning.
and the scope measures across six key areas:
Cognitive decline is one of the earliest symptoms of dementia, particularly for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitive screening can allow for early diagnosis, which allows for treatments to be considered as well as facilitating management and care planning.
Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.
Downloads
- Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS)
- Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale for Cognition (ADAS-COG)
- Ascertain Dementia 8 (AD8)
- Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB)
- General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG)
- Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE)
- Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA-Cog)
- Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
- Psychogeriatric Assessment Scale – Cognitive Decline Scale (PAS-CDS)
- Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS)
Find out more about the individual Cognitive Measures & Tools
Staging measures are used to assess the severity and progression of dementia.
Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.
Downloads
- Blessed Dementia Scale (BDS)
- Global Deterioration Scale (GDS)
- Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR)
- Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST)
- Dementia Severity Rating Scale (DSRS)
A dementia diagnosis is based on the degree to which cognitive impairment interferes with independence in everyday activities. Measures to assess functional impairment can be used to support the initial diagnostic process, to assist intervention planning or to measure change in a person’s function as dementia progresses.
Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.
Downloads
- Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Inventory (ADCS-MCI-ADL)
- Bayer Activities of Daily Living (Bayer ADL)
- Cleveland Scale for Activities of Daily Living (CS-ADL)
- Direct Assessment of Functional Status, Extended (DAFS)
- Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD)
- Katz Index of ADL (Katz ADL)
- Lawton & Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (Lawton & Brody IADL)
- Older Americans’ Resources and Services Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (OARS-IADL)
Find out more about the individual Function Measures & Tools
Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) occur in the majority of people with dementia and include apathy, agitation, aggression, disinhibition, depression and psychotic symptoms. Some scales are designed to assess multiple BPSD, while others are specific to a single symptom.
Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.
Downloads
- Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES)
- Behavioural Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease (BEHAVE-AD)
- Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI)
- Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD)
- Frontal Behavioural Inventory (FBI)
- Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
- Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)
- Pittsburgh Agitation Scale (PAS)
- Rating Anxiety In Dementia (RAID)
- Rating scale for Aggressive behaviour in the Elderly (RAGE)
- Revised Algase Wandering Scale (RAWS) – Community Version
- Revised Algase Wandering Scale (RAWS) – Long Term Care Version
Delirium is a rapid but reversible change in cognitive functioning characterised by confusion, hallucinations, misinterpretation of events and sleep disturbance, which usually results from an acute but potentially treatable physiological condition such as drug intoxication, fever or cardiovascular disorder. The accurate detection and discrimination of delirium from dementia is an important task particularly in acute hospital settings.
Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.
Delirium
Find out more about the individual Delirium Measures & Tools
Quality of Life broadly refers to a person’s sense of subjective well-being across several domains including physical, psychological and social. Dementia-specific QoL measures assess the efficacy of health and social service interventions for persons with dementia. As dementia-related changes in cognition may make self-report unreliable, these measures include combined self/informant scales and informant-only scales.
Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.
Quality of life
- Health-related quality of life for people with dementia (DEMQOL)
- Quality of life for people with dementia (QUALIDEM)
- Quality of life in late-stage dementia (QUALID)
Background:
The Dementia Outcome Measurement Suite (DOMS) was originally commissioned by the Australian government’s NationalDementia Initiative. In 2007, the DOMS project team, consisting of Sansoni J, Marosszeky N, Jeon Y-H, Chenoweth L, Hawthorne G, King M, Budge M, Zapart S, Sansoni E, Senior K, Kenny P and Low L, produced their final report on the Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite Project. In 2009, the outcomes of this document were translated into an online platform by Tom White, Ian McDonald and Henry Brodaty.
The current website is the result of an extensive update and literature review by the current DOMS project team: Adam Bentvelzen, Liesbeth Aerts, Katrin Seeher, Belinda Goodenough and Henry Brodaty at the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, UNSW Australia. During the review, the project team was advised by a steering committee including researchers and health care professionals: Lyndal Newton, Sharon Levy, Simone Reppermund, Julie Strukovski, Kim Burns, Daniella Kanareck, Jacqueline Wesson and Anne-Nicole Casey.
> Disclaimer:
The DOMS website contains information on the assessment of dementia. Every attempt is made to ensure that all information is correct. However, responsibility for investigations and further management remains with the clinician. Do not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to medical advice from an appropriately qualified professional. If you have any specific questions about medical issues you should consult your doctor.
Scales are reproduced with permission from the original authors and/or publishers. Consult the ‘Permission & cost’ section on each page for more information on the conditions of use. Responsibility to comply to copyright regulations remains with the end user.
Dementia assessment scales were rated based on evidence in the scientific literature published up to June 2016. Every attempt is made to include all relevant information. If you feel there has been an oversight or error, please contact the DOMS team by clicking on the blue bar below.