Brazilian adaptation of the Hotel Task: a tool for the ecological assessment of executive functions

Abstract

Over recent years, neuropsychological research has been increasingly concerned with the need to develop more ecologically valid instruments for the assessment of executive functions. The Hotel Task is one of the most widely used ecological measures of executive functioning, and provides an assessment of planning, organization, self-monitoring and cognitive flexibility.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to adapt the Hotel Task for use in the Brazilian population.MethodsThe sample comprised 27 participants (three translators, six expert judges, seven healthy adults, ten patients with traumatic brain injuries and one hotel manager). The adaptation process consisted of five steps, which were repeated until a satisfactory version of the task was produced. The steps were as follows:(1) Translation;(2) Development of new stimuli and brainstorming among the authors;(3) Analysis by expert judges;(4) Pilot studies;(5) Assessment by an expert in business administration and hotel management.ResultsThe adapted version proved adequate and valid for the assessment of executive functions. However, further research must be conducted to obtain evidence of the reliability, as well as the construct and criterion validity, sensitivity and specificity, of the Hotel Task.ConclusionMany neurological and/or psychiatric populations may benefit from the adapted task, since it may make significant contributions to the assessment of dysexecutive syndromes and their impact on patient functioning.

Development and content validity of the CENA Program for Educational Training on the Neuropsychology of Learning, with an emphasis on executive functions and attention

“…Methodological guidelines are essential for the development of assessment and/or intervention tools, and crucial for the verification of constructs such as content validity and reliability. 31 , 33 , 39 , 31 , 44 The inter-rater analysis performed in the present study allowed for an assessment of the congruence between the main objectives of the CENA Program and its structure, language and methods, as well as the extent to which the intended goals were achieved by the intervention. The high levels of inter-rater agreement (CVI – 1.0) also provided important evidence of content validity for the CENA, confirming the contribution of methods and strategies drawn from neuropsychological assessment to the field of cognitive intervention.…”

“…Methodological guidelines for the construction and adaptation of neuropsychological instruments were followed as closely as possible throughout the process. 31 - 33 , 35 …”

Program of neuropsychological stimulation of cognition in students: Emphasis on executive functions - development and evidence of content validity

“…Existing programs do not specify how they were devised or constructed and do not report content validity evidence. In this scenario, the present study sought to follow the same methodological and technical rigor used to adapt or create neuropsychological evaluation instruments 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 .…”

Instrumentos de Avaliação das Funções Executivas: Revisão Sistemática dos Últimos Cinco Anos

“…Nos artigos que versavam sobre a adaptação de instrumentos, foram observados o uso de técnicas, como: revisão da literatura pertinente, tradução do instrumento original, análise do instrumento original, análise de juízes especialistas na área da saúde, análise de juízes especialistas em neuropsicologia, desenvolvimento de novos estímulos e estudos-piloto (Cardoso et al, 2015;Fontoura et al, 2011;Salles et al, 2011). Afirma-se que o processo de adaptação refere-se a uma tarefa complexa que exige comprovar tanto as evidências acerca da equivalência semântica dos itens, quanto as evidências psicométricas da nova versão do instrumento, levando em consideração a adequação cultural, ou seja, o preparo do instrumento para seu uso em outro contexto (Borsa, Damásio, & Bandeira, 2012).…”

“…Destaca-se que nos estudos que fizeram o uso de apenas um instrumento para a avaliação das FE foram observados processos de validação e adaptação do instrumento, ou mesmo a avaliação das propriedades psicométricas e da sensibilidade deste. (Cardoso et al, 2015;Fontoura et al, 2011;Oliveira et al, 2014;Salles et al, 2011;Silva et al, 2015).…”