comparison of the Boston Naming Test and Miami Naming Test in an Afro-Caribbean population over the age of 55

The Boston Naming Test (60 items) and the newly developed Miami Naming Test (76 items) are designed to assess naming deficits and word-retrieval capacities. These two tests were compared in a sample of 106 Afro-Caribbean elders. Analysis included inter-rater, test-retest reliability and internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. The correlation between the scores of both raters on the Boston Naming Test was r=.9974 and r=.9984 on the Miami Naming Test. The test-retest reliability scores were r=.936 for the Boston Naming Test and r=.931 for the Miami Naming Test. The alpha level for the Miami Naming Test was .95 and the Boston Naming Test was .94. The individual items for both tests were evaluated for their level of difficulty and the scores on the Miami Naming Test were compared to the Boston Naming Test and the Mini Mental State Exam results. Results indicated acceptable levels of reliability for both the Boston Naming Test and the Miami Naming Test. This study shed light on which items should be replaced or deleted and future directions for research on assessment of dementia on older adults of Afro-Caribbean background. This study was supported by Minority Supplement grant #NR07744-01 and was guided by design of the parent grant Culture Bias in Expressive Ability in Dementia funded by the National Institute of Nursing research.