Macarthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research

The MacCAT-CR provides a structured format for capacity assessment that is adaptable to the particulars of any given research project. With the introduction of the MacCAT-CR, researchers enrolling human participants in their studies have available for the first time a reliable and valid means of assessing their potential subject's capacity to consent to participation. The MacCAT-CR can typically be administered in 15-20 minutes.Beginning with project-specific disclosures to potential participants, the MacCAT-CR measures the four generally accepted components of decision-making competence: understanding, appreciation, reasoning, and the ability to express a choice. Quantification of subjects' responses permits comparisons across subjects and subject groups, and allows the MacCAT-CR to be used not only for screening individual participants but also for conducting research on the characteristics of subject populations and for assessing the effectiveness of interventions designed to increase subjects' capacities.Paul S. Appelbaum is the author of 'Macarthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research', published 2001 under ISBN 9781568870717 and ISBN 156887071X.