Validation of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale in Indonesia: Preliminary Evidence

The South-East Asia region has one of the fastest-growing aging populations, for which standardized dementia screening measures will be essential for geriatric care. The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) is adopted for use in the Indonesian setting but lacks evidence of its cross-cultural transportability. This study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of scores from the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) in the Indonesian setting. Indonesian older adults from a geriatric nursing center (N = 135; 52 males, 83 females; age range 60–82) completed the Indonesian translation of the RUDAS (RUDAS-Ina), following content adaptation study with community living older adults (N = 35), nine neurologists and two geriatric nurses. For face and content validity, we utilized a consensus-building procedure. Results following confirmatory factor analysis yielded a single-factor model. The reliability of scores from the RUDAS-Ina was marginally satisfactory for research purposes (Cronbach α = 0.61). Multi-level linear regression for examining the association of the RUDAS-Ina scores with gender and age indicated older age to be associated with lower RUDAS-Ina scores. In contrast, the association with gender was not significant. Findings suggest a need to develop and validate locally generated items with cultural sensitivity to the Indonesian setting, which may also be studied in other Southeast Asian countries.