About this Research Topic
As global life expectancies increase, the growing challenge posed by cognitive impairments, including dementia, becomes more pressing. Today, nearly 1 in 9 individuals globally face such difficulties, a number that is expected to rise significantly by 2060, highlighting an escalating public health crisis. Decision-making, defined as the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from multiple alternatives, is crucial for maintaining independence and managing aspects of life such as healthcare and finances, is increasingly relevant. Reliable tools are needed to evaluate these decision-making abilities in older adults to monitor independence and potentially predict the onset of dementia. Although decision-making is a well-examined topic across various disciplines, a comprehensive understanding of the assessments of these skills and their efficacy, especially among older populations, is still lacking. This reveals a clear gap in both research and practical applications.
This Research Topic seeks to analyze and summarize how current assessments can effectively measure real-world decision-making abilities in older adults, focusing on their strengths and limitations. It will explore the robustness of these tools in terms of psychometric properties and their ecological validity, ensuring that they mirror real-life situations and truly reflect the cognitive state of an individual facing neurodegeneration.
To enhance our understanding and application of decision-making assessments in older adults, this topic will encompass:
- Scoping or literature reviews detailing existing measures, their psychometric foundation, and adaptability
- Analyses of theoretical frameworks and concepts guiding decision-making in cognitively healthy versus cognitively impaired aging
- Innovative research on predictive measures capable of identifying potential transitions to dementia
- Evaluations of domain-specific decision-making capabilities, including financial, healthcare, non-cognitive emotion, and functional outcome decisions
This Research Topic seeks to analyze and summarize how current assessments can effectively measure real-world decision-making abilities in older adults, focusing on their strengths and limitations. It will explore the robustness of these tools in terms of psychometric properties and their ecological validity, ensuring that they mirror real-life situations and truly reflect the cognitive state of an individual facing neurodegeneration.
To enhance our understanding and application of decision-making assessments in older adults, this topic will encompass:
- Scoping or literature reviews detailing existing measures, their psychometric foundation, and adaptability
- Analyses of theoretical frameworks and concepts guiding decision-making in cognitively healthy versus cognitively impaired aging
- Innovative research on predictive measures capable of identifying potential transitions to dementia
- Evaluations of domain-specific decision-making capabilities, including financial, healthcare, non-cognitive emotion, and functional outcome decisions
Keywords: Decision-making, neuropsychological assessment, mild cognitive impairment, vulnerability, early detection
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
