Practical Screening Approaches for Identifying Participants With Dementia for Research in Nursing Home Studies

Purpose: To consider the value of a multiple measurement assessment approach to determine evidence of dementia for inclusion in research studies. Method: The current descriptive study used screening data from a study implementing a pain clinical practice guideline in nursing homes. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were used to test the measurement model of cognition. Results: A total of 111 individuals were included. The model fit the data; however, two direct resident assessments indicated that 10% and 21% of participants had no dementia based on the Brief Interview for Mental Status and Pizza Test, respectively. All informant-based measures indicated that participants had dementia with the exception of one individual based on the AD8. Conclusion: Findings supported the practicality of using a single direct assessment completed by the participant to identify whether the individual had evidence of cognitive impairment.