Dr. A. Lynn Snow

A. Lynn Snow, PhD

METRIC Team Member A. Lynn Snow, PhD is a Co-Investigator.A clinical psychologist, Dr. Snow brings to METRIC her expertise in applying psychometric principles to the selection and development of instruments for use with disabled clinical populations.She conducts research with frail older adults and older adults with dementia, and thus frequently faces the challenge of validating instruments for which no gold standard of the measured construct exists, as well as the challenge of choosing and/or creating scales for populations with physical, sensory, and cognitive impairments.Dr. Snow's experience in developing and evaluating assessments for psychosocial states in older adults (including depression, dementia, and pain) provides the basis for her work on METRIC.Her previous psychometric work includes investigations of existing depression instruments for use with older adults and the development of an instrument to assess deficit awareness in individuals with dementia.Currently she is completing a meta-analysis of self-versus proxy-rated psychosocial variables in demented and non-demented individuals in an effort to better understand the factors influencing the validity of self-report in demented individuals.Finally, she recently received a grant to develop a behavioral observational instrument to assess pain in severely demented individuals, and is developing subsequent projects in this area of investigation.Dr. Snow is currently supported by a VA HSR&D Associate Investigator Award that is allowing her to devote all of her time to her continued development as a psychometrician and health services researcher.