Dementia care mapping as a research tool.
BACKGROUND
Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) was originally developed as a clinical tool but has attracted interest as a potential observational measure of quality of life (QOL) and well-being of long-term care residents with dementia. DCM coding involves continuous observation over a 6-h period, with observers recording a Behavior Category Code (BCC, a recording of activity/interaction) and a Well/Ill Being (WIB) score at 5 min intervals.


METHODS
Descriptive data from several different research teams on the distribution and psychometric properties of DCM data were compiled and summarized.


RESULTS
Issues and problems identified include: complex scoring algorithms, inter-rater reliability of the BCCs, limited variability of WIB values, associations between resident characteristics and DCM assessments, rater time burden, and comparability of results across study settings.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the identified limitations, DCM has promise as a research measure, as it may come closer to rating QOL from the perspective of persons with dementia than other available measures. Its utility will depend on the manner in which it is applied and an appreciation of the measure's strength and limitations. Possible changes that might improve the reliability, validity, and practicality of DCM as a research tool include coding the predominant event (rather than the 'best' event), shortening the observation period, and adding '0' as a neutral WIB coding option.
Sloane
Philip D
PD
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. psloane@med.unc.edu
Brooker
Dawn
D
Cohen
Lauren
L
Douglass
Carolinda
C
Edelman
Perry
P
Fulton
Bradley R
BR
Jarrott
Shannon
S
Kasayka
Roseann
R
Kuhn
Daniel
D
Preisser
John S
JS
Williams
Christianna S
CS
Zimmerman
Sheryl
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D040561:Assisted Living Facilities; D006302:Health Services Research; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000523:psychology*; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015588:Observer Variation; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States