PONE-D-24-26872Usability and psychometric properties of a battery of tools to assess intelligence, executive functioning, and sustained attention in Tanzanian childrenPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Loss,

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PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

Apologies for the long delay in responding to this submission. Finding reviewers for this manuscript was a significant challenge. I am pleased to report that both reviewers have recommended publication of the manuscript in PLOS ONE, pending a response to one question from one of the reviewers. For this reason, I have recommended Minor Revision. It should not take long to respond to the reviewer's query. This is an important area of work that the International Neuropsychological Society has recently recognized. The INS has called for more effort to both adapt measures for use in low-middle-income country settings and to develop culturally-appropriate measures from within LMICs. The manuscript will make an important contribution to this discussion.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: I thought this was a well-designed feasibility study that was relevant to the larger goal of the researchers.

I did appreciate that the authors undertook this study to determine the appropriateness of non-local neurocognitive measures for the CHILD study and I think their foresight on the matter should be commended.

One question: What were some of the "similarities" you considered relevant between Yombo and Fukayosi/Kiwanga?

Reviewer #2: The manuscript appears to be technically sound. The five selected instruments (along with pre-testing to assess their applicability and adaptations to fit the study’s context), appear suitable for assessing constructs of general intelligence, executive functioning, and sustained attention in Tanzanian children.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Usability and psychometric properties of a battery of tools to assess intelligence, executive functioning, and sustained attention in Tanzanian children

PONE-D-24-26872R1

Dear Dr. Loss,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Randall Waechter

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE