Neurological Reserve (Passive Reserve)

DeltaQuest Reserve-Building Activities Measure ©2015 DeltaQuest Foundation (TXu 1-982-860)

The DeltaQuest Reserve-Building Measure© is the result of many years of development and validation. The measure's nine current activities subscales span a range of activities that reflect how people spend their leisure time, some of which activities are hypothesized to enhance reserve (e.g., Active in the World, Games, Outdoor, Creative, Religious/Spiritual, Exercise, Inner Life, Shopping/Cooking) and one of which expected not to have any salutogenic effect (i.e., Passive Media Consumption). It includes subscales for past reserve-building activities (Childhood Activities, Achievement, Occupational Complexity) and of relevant person factors related to reserve (Perseverance, Current Social Support, Past Social Support).

DeltaQuest Cognitive Reserve Measure © 2010 DeltaQuest Foundation (TXu001823110)

DeltaQuest Pediatric Cognitive Reserve Measure © 2012 DeltaQuest Foundation (TXu001862711)

The DeltaQuest Cognitive Reserve Measure and the DeltaQuest Pediatric Cognitive Reserve Measure assess past and current activities that relate to brain health. The passive reserve (past) component focuses on factors that are antecedent to disease onset. The active reserve (current) component involves activities and behaviors that an individual presently engages in. Work by our group has identified consistent and substantial relationships between both reserve components and patient-reported outcomes both cross-sectionally and over time. Individuals with high reserve appear to be healthier and experience higher levels of well-being.

Attitudes

The Concept of a Good Death Scale © 2003 DeltaQuest Foundation (TX0006408226)

The Concept of a Good Death Scale consists of 17 descriptive statements of what might be considered important to one’s concept of a good death. The work sought to build on Walden-Galuszko’s work on traditional versus modern death, and to include dimensions that are increasingly recognized as important at the end of life, including spiritual peace, acceptance, closure with family and friends, pain, etc. Respondents are asked to indicate the importance of the 17 distinct characteristics to their concept of a good death. The measure has documented reliability and validity, as well as responsiveness to change.

Concerns about Dying in Healthcare Providers Measure © 2004 DeltaQuest Foundation (TX0006408227)

The Concerns about Dying Scale is a 10-item scale designed to elicit concerns and beliefs about death and dying for healthcare providers. The measure has three subscales: (1) general concern about death; (2) spirituality; (3) patient-related concern about death. The measure has documented reliability and validity, as well as responsiveness to change.

Idiographic Domain-Specific Preference Assessment © 1994 DeltaQuest Foundation (TXu000780833)

The Idiographic Domain-Specific Preference Assessment is a validated patient-centered method for evaluating treatment. This “idiographic” approach attempts to capture intra-individual differences in the degree to which each domain distracted from and interfered with life activities. This approach has been shown to exhibit responsiveness, but is highly correlated with QOL.

Treatment Preferences for End of Life Care Medical Directive © 2004 DeltaQuest Foundation (TX0006408219)

The Modified Medical Directive asks patients to consider 4 hypothetical situations: coma, incurable progressive disease, end-stage terminal illness, and a new serious medical problem (eg, stroke). It then asks patients to indicate their goals for treatment (eg, to prolong life or comfort care only) and their preferences for 6 specific treatments (eg, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition and hydration, antibiotic drugs, pain medications, and hospitalization for treatments to prolong life, such as the intensive care unit). Previous work by our group has shown this measure is reliable and valid for use in clinical settings and for evaluating interventions designed to improve patient-agent congruence about patient preferences for life-sustaining treatments.