Care Staff's Daily Living Decision-Making Support Scale for Older Adults with Dementia in Japan: Development of Validity and Reliability.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to develop and validate a scale to assess the daily-living decision-making support of care staff for older adults with dementia (OwDs) in Japan. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 138 care staff at two geriatric healthcare facilities from February to March 2021. The Daily Living Decision-Making Support Scale for Older Adults with Dementia (DL-DM) was developed using item analysis, factor analysis, and covariance structure analysis. The factor analysis yielded 12 items and three factors (1) support for the formation and expression of intentions in daily life based on the life background and values of OwDs; (2) attitudes and devising ways to communicate regarding the formation and expression of intentions in OwDs daily lives; and (3) devising ways to support OwDs in realizing their intentions in daily life. The internal consistency reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach's α of 0.87 for the total scale. The DL-DM correlated with the concurrent validity measures as expected. The DL-DM demonstrated validity and reliability as a potential scale to assess support for OwDs in daily life decision-making. The results also suggest an association between the DL-DM and person-centered care for OwDs.