Canada

Keep up on what’s happening in the dementia patient and caregiver world throughout Canada.

Be wary of online tests: opinion

Be wary of online tests: opinion

by TEAM ALZLIVE

People over 65 are seeking out information about Alzheimer’s online and ending up with useless tests linked to sales pitches, says UBC researcher Julie Robillard.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Robillard, a post-doctoral fellow at the National Core for Neuroethics, asked specialists, including neuropsychologists and ethicists, to examine 16 typical online dementia tests and found 12 were “problematic.”

“The majority of the tests reviewed by a panel of experts found they were not scientifically valid so that means they’re minimally useful to give you any information about whether you have dementia or not. And we also found that all the tests in our sample had ethical limitations such as conflict of interest … or issues of privacy and confidentiality,” Robillard told the Vancouver Sun.

The most recent figures from Statistics Canada says 70 per cent of people over the age of 65 were regularly online in 2012. Older web users are the fastest-growing group in Canada, Statscan said.

For health information, Robillard suggests sticking to reputable national advocacy groups like the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.

 



You might also enjoy:

Georgian Bay gets a retro 'Hogewey' treatment

A new, state-of-the-art 52-bed facility using the latest techniques in the care and treatment of such…

New funding for Alzheimer's prevention

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government announced Thursday, May 1, 2014, that it will support five…

Spirit of the West's John Mann diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

Spirit of the West lead singer and guitarist John Mann has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s…

Dementia in the house: a site for teens

A website to help teens deal with the devastating reality of early-onset dementia in their middle-aged…

comments powered by Disqus