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Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Harmonised Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) is part of the Healthy Cognitive Aging Project, a study examining how people's memory and thinking change as they get older. In England, HCAP is a sub-study of ELSA, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a longitudinal survey of ageing and quality of life among older people that explores the dynamic relationships between health and functioning, social networks and participation, and economic position as people plan for, move into and progress beyond retirement. (The main ELSA study is held under SN 5050.) ELSA-HCAP1 took place in 2018 and interviewed ELSA core members aged 65 and over. It included a second, shorter interview with an informant, a family member or friend nominated by the ELSA core member to complete an interview on their behalf. ELSA-HCAP2 took place in 2023 and interviewed ELSA-HCAP1 sample members and additional ELSA core members aged 65 and over, and also included an informant interview. The HCAP study originated with the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States, which is a sister study to ELSA, a longitudinal study of people aged 50 and over in the United States. Researchers on HRS developed the protocols for HCAP, in discussion with researchers from ELSA and other international studies, and fieldwork in the United States began while ELSA-HCAP in England was still in the planning stages. The aim of ELSA-HCAP is to measure the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment among older people in the ELSA panel, in order to: Understand more about how widespread these conditions are in England and increase our understanding of dementia;Test how well the cognitive assessments used in this study can identify these conditions.Examine the 5-year change in cognitive function in the subset of respondents who take part across multiple waves of ELSA-HCAP.  HCAP scores developed by Alden Gross and...