MAY 4, 2000

OPERATIONS MEMO #34

TO:REACH PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS

FROM:RICHARD SCHULZ

This memo addresses issues for the:

Project Coordinator

Interviewer(s)

Data Entry Personnel

Please distribute this memo to the appropriate personnel at your site.

This Operations Memo addresses revisions to the CES-D (SD), Mini-Mental State Examination (MM), Discontinued Interview (DC), and Intervention Delivery Assessment (DA) Q x Qs and the REACH directories.

Please use the following pages of the Q x Q’s as replacements for the current pages in the Core Manual of Operations, Volumes I and III.

FORM / MOP / PAGE(S) / NEW VERSION / NEW DATE
SD QxQ / Vol. III, Section 1 / 124 / 4.4 / 04/25/00
SD QxQ / Vol. III, Section 1 / 124a / 4.3 / 02/23/00
MM QxQ / Vol. III, Section 1 / 151 / 5.3 / 02/23/00
DC QxQ / Vol. III, Section 1 / 213 / 1.4 / 02/07/00
DA QxQ / Vol. III, Section 1 / 233 / 1.3 / 12/13/99
REACH Directories / Vol. I, Section 11 / 1 – 47 / NA / 5/2/00

CES-D (SD) QxQ’s

ISSUE: The proper procedures to follow when a CES-D score is 28 or greater.

SOLUTION: As noted in the December ’97 Steering Committee minutes and in the February ’98 Intervention Workgroup minutes: “If the CES-D score is 28 or greater, the PI or PI designate should be contacted and then the caregiver must be contacted by the REACH team member (e.g., interviewer, interventionist, PC, or PI). After the initial contact, the REACH site is expected to monitor the caregiver, but no other action is required. This protocol applies to all assessment points (baseline, 6,12, and 18 months). Thus, a caregiver scoring 28 or higher on the CES-D at Baseline and the 6-month follow-up would be contacted after Baseline and again after the 6-month battery.”

CES-D (SD) QxQ’s

ISSUE: A revised formula to calculate total CES-D scores.

SOLUTION: When calculating the CES-D scores, the total score should always be pro-rated as opposed to only when cases have more than five questions with missing data. The QxQ’s have been updated to reflect this revision.

Mini-Mental State Examination (MM) QxQ’s

ISSUE: How to record a total score on the MM form when all of the sub-score items are refusals or when they are all don’t knows.

SOLUTION: If the responses to all of the sub-score items are refusals, “-4” (refused) should be entered for the total score. If the responses to all of the sub-scores items are don’t knows, “0” (zero) should be entered for the total score.

Discontinued Interview (DC) QxQ’s

ISSUE: What is the appropriate date to record when a caregiver is inactivated because of caregiver death?

SOLUTION: If a caregiver is inactivated because of death, record the date the caregiver died as the Date of Interview on the DC form. For example, if a caregiver died on January 15th but the site wasn’t notified until March 15th, the appropriate Date of Interview to record on the DC form would be January 15th. Note that for the IN form, the Interview Date should also be January 15th but the Date of Form Completion would be March 15th.

Intervention Delivery Assessment (DA) QxQ’s

ISSUE: When a DA form should NOT be completed.

SOLUTION: The DA QxQ’s have been updated to give examples of what is NOT considered to be a meaningful treatment related contact. These include contacts made for the sole purpose of verifying equipment receipt, information or literature and contacts made for the sole purpose of scheduling/rescheduling interviews or appointments.

REACH Directories

ISSUE: Update of the REACH directories

SOLUTION: The REACH directories have been updated to reflect recent changes in contact information for personnel on the REACH project.

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