Dementia care mapping as a research tool for measuring quality of life in care settings: psychometric properties

BACKGROUND: There are a paucity of validated measures focusing on quality of life for people with dementia in care facilities. METHOD: The current study evaluated the internal consistency of Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) in a group of 123 people with dementia residing in care facilities and further evaluated the test retest reliability and concurrent validity of key DCM constructs in an additional group of 54 residents. RESULTS: The results show good internal consistency. Well-ill being score was significantly correlated with an informant rated quality of life measure (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001) and showed good test retest reliability (r = 0.55, p < 0.0001). An abbreviated assessment period focusing on the hour before lunch showed significant correlation with the total assessment period (well-ill being score r = 0.5, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The current study indicates that DCM is a valid tool for the longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in people with dementia in care settings and that some abbreviation of the method may facilitate its use more widely.