Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA)

The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) was developed and validated in response to the need for a validated cognitive (memory and thinking) screening tool for older Aboriginal Australians living in rural and remote areas. It has been further adapted for use with Torres Strait Islander people, and for Aboriginal people living in urban and regional areas.

We recommend viewing the KICA Education videos to guide you in conducting the assessment. 

For any enquiries about the KICA, please contact us at gsgl@uwa.edu.au or fill in the contact form below. 

There are different versions of the KICA available (e.g. KICA-Cog Remote and KICA-Cog Urban Regional). It is important to use the correct version

KICA Instruction booklet

Download the KICA Instruction booklet

KICA-Cog Urban and Regional 

The KICA-Cog Remote is a validated cognitive assessment tool to measure dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged 45 years and older in urban and regional settings. The KICA-Cog must be administered by a health professional.

Please ensure you have all the tools and KICA pictures ready prior to the assessment. 


Tools required to perform the KICA-Cog Urban Regional:

  • Comb
  • Pannikin / cup
  • Box of matches
  • Plastic bottle with top
  • Watch/ timer for verbal fluency question and pictures
  • Print outs: a set of the KICA-Cog Urban pictures 

The pictures are for the visual naming and free recall questions and should be presented in that order.


A score of 35/39 and below indicates possible dementia. Those with a low KICA-Cog score should be referred for medical review to rule out other causes of cognitive impairment, some of which are reversible, or to substantiate dementia. 

Download the KICA-Cog Urban Regional tool

KICA-Cog Remote 

The KICA-Cog Remote is a validated cognitive assessment tool to measure dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged 45 years and older in remote settings. The KICA-Cog must be administered by a health professional. 

Please ensure you have all the tools and KICA pictures ready prior to the assessment. 


Tools required to perform the KICA-cog Remote:

  • Comb
  • Pannikin / cup
  • Box of matches
  • Plastic bottle with top
  • Watch/ timer for verbal fluency question and pictures
  • Print outs: a set of the KICA-Cog Remote pictures (13 pages of pictures for Remote clients or 12 pages of pictures for Torres Strait clients)

The pictures are for the visual naming and free recall questions and should be presented in that order.


A score of 33/39 and below indicates possible dementia. Those with a low KICA-Cog score should be referred for a medical review to rule out other causes of cognitive impairment, some of which are reversible, or to substantiate dementia. 

Download the KICA-Cog Remote tool

Download the Extended KICA-Cog for Remote clients

KICA-Screen 

The KICA screen is a shortened version (10 questions) of the KICA-Cog tools intended for use in time poor settings. Please note that the full KICA-Cog is recommended for the most valid results. 

A score of 21/25 and less indicates possible dementia and full clinical assessment needed

Download the KICA-Screen for Remote clients

Download the KICA-Screen for Urban Regional clients

KICA-Carer

The KICA-Carer is an informant report. It has been validated for use in remote settings. 

A score of 3/16 and above indicates that further investigations are required.

Download the KICA-Carer 

Other KICA tools

Additional KICA tools are available for including additional information to inform possible diagnosis, rule out other possible causes of cognitive decline, and care planning.

KICA-Depression Screen (KICA-Dep)

KICA-Behaviour: Family Report 

KICA- Function and Activities of Daily Living (KICA-ADL)

KICA Results and Interpretation

KICA results and dementia checklist

KICA Urban training videos

This 5-part video explains how to conduct the KICA memory screen.

KICA-Urban video was developed by LetsCHAT Dementia project collaboration led by the University of Melbourne. 

Part 1 Memory and thinking

 

Part 2 Thing to look out for

Part 3 Having a yarn with your patient about their memory and thinking

Part 4 The KICA-Cog Urban Assessment 

Part 5 Where to from here?

KICA Remote training video 

This instructional video covers the KICA remote assessment.

KICA-Remote video was developed by a KICA project collaboration led by The University of Western Australia.

Additional KICA images

These images are an alternative to the images of the emu or crocodile. In instances where some older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not comfortable with naming their totems, use these images instead. Liaise with the local Aboriginal Health Practitioner if unsure.

Additional KICA images

 

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