Development and Validation of the Memory Impact Questionnaire

Many healthy older adults experience age-related memory changes that can impact complex activities of everyday living. Whereas qualitative interviews have been useful in gaining insight into the experience of older adults who are facing memory difficulties, there is a need for measures that quantify the impact of normal memory changes in daily living. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a new instrument, the Memory Impact Questionnaire (MIQ). Exploratory factor analysis revealed three themes: (a) Negative Emotion, (b) Lifestyle, and (c) Coping. Among a group of 100 older adults, analyses revealed adequate internal consistency among subscale items as well as construct validity of the three scales in relation to other questionnaires. With an aging population, it is increasingly important to develop tools that can help capture the experience of older adults in order to improve support programs for this population.