Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite (DOMS)

Welcome to DOMS

The Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite or DOMS is a compendium of validated tools for the assessment of various aspects of dementia by health care professionals.

The DOMS project was originally commissioned under the Australian government’s National Dementia Initiative, and was designed to develop a standard suite of instruments that would be promulgated throughout Australia to encourage clinicians to ‘talk the same language’ by using the same instruments as much as possible.

The content of the full comprehensive review was translated into a user-friendly website format in 2009. In 2016, the website was updated with an increased focus on clinical practice and a wider coverage of:

different types of dementia, including frontotemporal dementia
severities of impairment, including mild cognitive impairment
clinical settings, including primary care versus specialist clinics
assessment modalities, including performance-based measures of function

The rating scheme was updated to reflect these changes and included greater emphasis on clinically-relevant psychometrics. The scope has also been expanded to an international audience.

Dementia outcome measures help clinicians assess important changes in people with dementia. Such measures may be used to:

screen for early signs of dementia,
monitor the progression of symptoms or the effect of treatment in patients known to have dementia or
assist in service planning.

and the scope measures across six key areas:

1. Cognition

Cognitive decline is one of the earliest symptoms of dementia, particularly for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitive screening can allow for early diagnosis, which allows for treatments to be considered as well as facilitating management and care planning.

Scale Comparison:This easy-to-navigate feature is designed to help you select the most appropriate tool for your clinical or research needs.
Scale Ratings: Detailed information on the quality metrics, based on an extensive overview of the scientific literature.

Downloads

Find out more about the individual Cognitive Measures & tools

2. Staging

Staging measures are used to assess the severity and progression of dementia.

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Find out more about the individual Staging Measures & Tools

3. Function

A dementia diagnosis is based on the degree to which cognitive impairment interferes with independence in everyday activities. Measures to assess functional impairment can be used to support the initial diagnostic process, to assist intervention planning or to measure change in a person’s function as dementia progresses.

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Find out more about the individual Function Measures & Tools

4. Behaviour

Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) occur in the majority of people with dementia and include apathy, agitation, aggression, disinhibition, depression and psychotic symptoms. Some scales are designed to assess multiple BPSD, while others are specific to a single symptom.

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Find out more about the individual BPSD Measures & Tools

5. Delirium

Delirium is a rapid but reversible change in cognitive functioning characterised by confusion, hallucinations, misinterpretation of events and sleep disturbance, which usually results from an acute but potentially treatable physiological condition such as drug intoxication, fever or cardiovascular disorder. The accurate detection and discrimination of delirium from dementia is an important task particularly in acute hospital settings.

Delirium

Delirium Rating Scale, Revised-98 (DRS-R-98)

Find out more about the individual Delirium Measures & Tools

6. Quality of life (QoL)

Quality of Life broadly refers to a person’s sense of subjective well-being across several domains including physical, psychological and social. Dementia-specific QoL measures assess the efficacy of health and social service interventions for persons with dementia. As dementia-related changes in cognition may make self-report unreliable, these measures include combined self/informant scales and informant-only scales.

Quality of life

Find out more about the individual QoL Measures & Tools

Project info

Background:

The Dementia Outcome Measurement Suite (DOMS) was originally commissioned by the Australian government’s NationalDementia Initiative. In 2007, the DOMS project team, consisting of Sansoni J, Marosszeky N, Jeon Y-H, Chenoweth L, Hawthorne G, King M, Budge M, Zapart S, Sansoni E, Senior K, Kenny P and Low L, produced their final report on the Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite Project. In 2009, the outcomes of this document were translated into an online platform by Tom White, Ian McDonald and Henry Brodaty.

The current website is the result of an extensive update and literature review by the current DOMS project team: Adam Bentvelzen, Liesbeth Aerts, Katrin Seeher, Belinda Goodenough and Henry Brodaty at the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, UNSW Australia. During the review, the project team was advised by a steering committee including researchers and health care professionals: Lyndal Newton, Sharon Levy, Simone Reppermund, Julie Strukovski, Kim Burns, Daniella Kanareck, Jacqueline Wesson and Anne-Nicole Casey.

> Disclaimer:

The DOMS website contains information on the assessment of dementia. Every attempt is made to ensure that all information is correct. However, responsibility for investigations and further management remains with the clinician. Do not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to medical advice from an appropriately qualified professional. If you have any specific questions about medical issues you should consult your doctor.

Scales are reproduced with permission from the original authors and/or publishers. Consult the ‘Permission & cost’ section on each page for more information on the conditions of use. Responsibility to comply to copyright regulations remains with the end user.

Dementia assessment scales were rated based on evidence in the scientific literature published up to June 2016. Every attempt is made to include all relevant information. If you feel there has been an oversight or error, please contact the DOMS team by clicking on the blue bar below.