Development of a Locally Derived Assessment of Daily Functioning in Sierra Leone

Following the method developed by Bolton and Tang (2002), this poster describes the creation of an assessment of daily functioning for use in communities in Sierra Leone. Measuring functional impairment is a critical element of assessing mental health and treatment response. Instruments developed in western countries often contain culturally-specific items that may not apply well to other contexts, and measures designed to generalize across settings and cultures may not include the specific daily tasks that are important to a particular population. To develop an assessment of daily functioning specific to communities in Sierra Leone, interviews were conducted with men and women living in the Bo, Moyamba, and Western Area Urban Districts to identify important daily activities. Interviews were primarily conducted in local languages (Mende or Krio) by in-country collaborators. Participants were asked to list the things that men/women must do regularly to care for themselves, for their family, and for their community. Interviews were conducted until saturation was reached. Discussion will include the nature of these tasks, the generalizability across communities and across gender, and the challenges and benefits of a locally derived instrument versus a standard instrument.