Twelve Step Facilitation (TSF) is an emerging, empirically supported treatment, the study of which will be strengthened by rigorous fidelity assessment. This report describes the development, reliability and concurrent validity of the Twelve Step Facilitation Adherence Competence Empathy Scale (TSF ACES), a comprehensive fidelity rating scale for group and individual TSF treatment developed for the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network study, Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step. Independent raters used TSF ACES to rate treatment delivery fidelity of 966 (97% of total) TSF group and individual sessions. TSF ACES summary measures assessed therapist treatment adherence, competence, proscribed behaviors, empathy and overall session performance. TSF ACES showed fair to good overall reliability; weighted kappa coefficients for 59 co-rated sessions ranged from .31–1.00, with a mean of .69. Reliability ratings for session summary measures were good to excellent (.69–.91). Internal consistency for the instrument was variable (.47–.71). Relationships of the TSF ACES summary measures with each other, as well as relationships of the summary measures with a measure of therapeutic alliance provided support for concurrent and convergent validity. Implications and future directions for use of TSF ACES in clinical trials and community treatment implementation are discussed.

NeuroQuant (NQ) is a fully-automated program that overcomes several existing limitations in the clinical translation of MRI-derived volumetry. The current study characterized differences between the original (NQ1) and an updated NQ version (NQ2) by (i) replicating previously identified relationships between neuropsychological test performance and medial temporal lobe volumes, (ii) evaluating the level of agreement between NQ versions, and (iii) determining if the addition of NQ2 age-/sex-based z-scores hold greater clinical utility for prediction of memory impairment than standard percent of intracranial volume (%ICV) values. Sixty-seven healthy older adults and 65 MCI patients underwent structural MRI and completed cognitive testing, including the Immediate and Delayed Memory indices from the RBANS. Results generally replicated previous relationships between key medial temporal lobe regions and memory test performance, though comparison of NQ regions revealed statistically different values that were biased toward one version or the other depending on the region. NQ2 hippocampal z-scores explained additional variance in memory performance relative to %ICV values. Findings indicate that NQ1/2 medial temporal lobe volumes, especially age- and sex-based z-scores, hold clinical value, though caution is warranted when directly comparing volumes across NQ versions.

Objective: Identify factors influencing service delivery changes during COVID-19 and examine barriers and provider satisfaction with teleneuropsychology (teleNP). Method: Licensed clinical neuropsychologists within the United States recruited via neuropsychology-specific listservs (July-August 2020) to complete an online survey. Results: A total of 261 individuals completed the survey. Most (76%) reported delivering in-person testing in some capacity at the time of our survey. Relatively more private practitioners identified concerns with privacy/confidentiality (45.2% vs. 17.9%; v 2 (2) ¼ 6.99, p < 0.05), legal issues (47.6% vs. 17.9%; v 2 (2) ¼ 8.06, p < 0.05), and an undesirable precedent for legal/forensic cases (59.5% vs. 15.4%; v 2 (2) ¼ 17.54, p < 0.001) compared to hospital or other medical (non-VA) practitioners. Multiple resources informed teleNP protocols, such as organization guidelines (87.6%), literature review (75.9%), webinars (72.4%), and consultation (68%). Several factors influenced test selection, including availability of normative data (70.1%), test familiarity (66.4%), administration time (63.5%), and evidence base (60.6%). Reported barriers to continuing teleNP after COVID-19 included need for improved teleNP norms (85.9%), domain coverage (84.7%), improved patient access to technology (74.1%) and further validation studies (84.1%). Conclusion: TeleNP may not be feasible in all settings and/or referrals. Respondents employed multiple resources in aggregating teleNP protocols and considered several factors when selecting tests. Results highlight the complex and varied decision-making processes utilized by respondents to adapt to service delivery changes. Considering the many benefits of teleNP, future research addressing some of the potentially modifiable factors (e.g., technology access, attitudes regarding teleNP) and significant development needs for teleNP itself (i.e., improved teleNP norms, further validation studies, etc.) is warranted.

Misdiagnosis and under-detection of delirium may occur in many medical settings. This is important to address as delirium clearly increases risk of morbidity and mortality in such settings. This study assessed whether Veterans who screened positive on a delirium severity measure (Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale; MDAS) differed from those with and without corresponding medical documentation of delirium in terms of cognitive functioning, psychiatric/medical history, and medication use. A medical record review of 266 inpatients at a VA post-acute rehabilitation unit found that 10.9% were identified as delirious according to the MDAS and/or medical records. Of the Veterans who screened positive on the MDAS (N = 19), 68.4% went undetected by medical screening. Undetected cases had a higher number of comorbid medical conditions as measured by the Age-Adjusted Charlson Index (AACI) scores (median = 9, SD = 3.15; U = 5.5, p = .003) than medically documented cases. For Veterans with a score of 7 or greater on the AACI, the general relative risk for delirium was 4.46. Delirium is frequently under-detected in a post-acute rehabilitation unit, particularly for Veterans with high comorbid illness. The relative risk of delirium is up to 4.46 for those with high medical burden, suggesting the need for more comprehensive delirium screening in these patients.