title: Care dependency: testing the German version of the Care Dependency Scale in nursing homes and on geriatric wards.
abstract: The purpose of this study was the psychometric evaluation of the German version of the dependency scale in nursing homes and on geriatric wards. The 15-item scale was originally developed in the Netherlands for assessing the care dependency of demented and mentally handicapped patients. Data of 81 nursing home residents and of 115 geriatric patients were collected. Residents and patients were assessed several time by professionals and nonprofessionals. Reliability was determined by Cronbach's alpha, showing very good results with values of 0.94 and 0.98. Inter-rater and intrarater reliability show moderate to substantial Kappa values. Criterion validity was examined by comparing the data of the scale with the German nursing personal regulation and the German statutory insurance. The results show that the scores of the Care Dependency Scale correlate to the scores of the two classifications. In general, the German version of the scale can be recommended for use in nursing homes and on geriatric wards.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, Centre for Humanities and Health Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. christa.lohrmann@charite.de
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lohrmann
authors.forename: Ate
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dijkstra
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dassen
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005858:Germany; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015588:Observer Variation; D011594:Psychometrics; D014175:Translating