Development of a Comfort Scale for Community Old Dwellers with Mild Cognitive Decline

This study aimed to develop a scale for assessing the comfort in the daily life of community dwellers with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia (MD), the Comfort Scale for Mild Dementia (COSMID). A questionnaire survey was conducted for community dwellers with MCI or MD. A principal component analysis was performed using the responses to the items of a trial version of COSMID and other items of conceptually relevant established scales to confirm the dimensional allocation and the independence/similarities of these components. Then, we examined the reliability and validity of the entire COSMID item candidates. Of the six components extracted, the COSMID items were allocated to two components, "Comfortable living (PC1)" and "Fulfillment of physiological needs (PC4)." These components were positively correlated with other components reflecting relevant concepts. Both Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω of these components were at an acceptable level (>0.70). Finally, the COSMID comprising 15 items was completed, and its component reliability coefficients were α = .880 and ω = .873. PC1 was a principal component of COSMID. Furthermore, PC4 was composed of five components of COSMID, thereby demonstrating its independence as a component of COSMID. PC1 and PC4 were the principal components with independence and similarities in the measured content on the factor space. The COSMID showed high internal consistency, and it was suggested to be an effective tool for objectively assessing comfort in daily life for people with MD.