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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Stella-Maria Paddick
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 by the authors. Highlights: What are the main findings? Most studies assessing mental health in older adults from Latin America and the Caribbean focused primarily on cognitive function, with a predominance of research conducted in Brazil. There are a lack of standardized validity criteria, and few studies address psychosocial or emotional dimensions of mental health in aging. What are the implications of the main findings? There is an urgent need to develop and validate culturally sensitive instruments that assess the broader spectrum of mental health in older adults. Expanding validated instruments across countries in the region would improve the quality and comparability of research and clinical practice. Background/Objectives: Screening instruments are relevant for assessing the mental health of older adults, favoring clinical practice and research. However, there is a need for instruments with sufficient evidence of validity for use in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where they are growing. This scoping review aims to evaluate the existing evidence regarding the psychometric properties of mental health measurement instruments used with older adults from LAC. Methods: Eight databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Medline, Embase, Scielo, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO) were searched to extract relevant articles about instruments to measure mental health outcomes in older adults in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. After the first screening and duplicate removal, 6307 were retrieved. Results: The full-text screening identified 312 articles for inclusion in the review. Most of the articles were from Brazil (49.04%). One hundred eighty instruments (52.79%) assessed cognition, mainly using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), followed by 11.14% for depression, most commonly with the Yesavage Depression Scale (GDS). The assessment of validity was predominantly based on two criteria (34%), and 56% of the evidence was published in the last 10 years. To improve usability, we have provided a practical guide to help LAC clinicians and researchers identify and select robustly validated and contextually appropriate assessment instruments. Conclusions: There is still little evidence of the validity of instruments that measure other aspects of mental health beyond cognitive functioning. There seems to be no unified set of criteria in Latin America for determining whether an instrument has sufficient valid evidence. More work is needed on cross-cultural validity evidence within the region.
Author(s): Miranda-Castillo C, Paddick S-M, Leon-Campos MO, Molleda P, Rosell J, Valenzuela M
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Healthcare
Year: 2026
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Online publication date: 20/01/2026
Acceptance date: 15/01/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2227-9032
Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020265
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare14020265
Data Access Statement: No new data were generated in this study.
