Development of the Telephone-based Daily Instrumental Activities of Living (T-DIAL) to assess financial management remotely in older adults

ABSTRACT

The current study evaluated the reliability and validity of a novel, performance-based banking task in 60 younger (18–34 years) and 60 older (50–85 years) adults. All participants completed the Telephone-based Daily Instrumental Activities of Living (T-DIAL) using interactive voice response technology to complete a series of mock actions with a financial institution via telephone. The T-DIAL showed strong inter-rater reliability and internal consistency. T-DIAL accuracy was significantly and independently related to better self-reported instrumental activities of daily living and executive functions at a large effect size. Findings from this study provided preliminary supportive evidence for the reliability and validity of the T-DIAL, which had robust associations with manifest everyday functioning and higher-order cognitive ability. Future work is needed on the psychometrics (e.g. test–retest reliability, normative standards), and construct validity (e.g. diagnostic accuracy) of the T-DIAL in neurocognitive disorders and under-served communities for whom remote evaluations might be particularly relevant.

KEYWORDS:

• Teleneuropsychology
• cognitive aging
• neuropsychological assessment
• functional capacity
• geropsychology

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the University of Houston and was completed as part of the dissertation requirements for the lead author. We extend our gratitude to Anastasia Matchanova, Ilex Beltran-Najera, Briana Johnson, and Brian Henry for their efforts in supporting this project and conducting the participant evaluations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, SPW, upon reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2024.2352900

Notes

1. The iADLQ subscale included two items that assessed self-reported problems with using the telephone and managing finances, for which among the entire sample zero individuals endorsed requiring help to use the telephone, and five individuals endorsed requiring assistance with financial management.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the University of Houston.