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 for 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 i