This paper examines the impact of linguistic, cultural and contextual factors on the validity of mental status instruments through comparison of the performance of Native and non- Native respondents in a population-based survey of elderly Manitobans. Qualitative data describing potential biases associated with language, cultural and contextual factors are also drawn from observations of interviews using a culturally adapted instrument to screen for dementia among Cree speak ing Native elders living on Manitoba reserves and English speaking non-Native elders living in Winnipeg.
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