title: A preliminary psychometric evaluation of Music in Dementia Assessment Scales (MiDAS).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Music in Dementia Assessment Scales (MiDAS), an observational outcome measure for music therapy with people with moderate to severe dementia, was developed from qualitative data of focus groups and interviews. Expert and peer consultations were conducted at each stage of the scale development to maximize its content validity. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of MiDAS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Care home residents with dementia attended weekly group music therapy for up to ten sessions. Music therapists and care home staff were requested to complete weekly MiDAS ratings. The Quality of Life Scale (QoL-AD) was completed at three time-points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 629 (staff = 306, therapist = 323) MiDAS forms were completed. The statistical analysis revealed that MiDAS has high therapist inter-rater reliability, low staff inter-rater reliability, adequate staff test-retest reliability, adequate concurrent validity, and good construct validity. High factor loadings between the five MiDAS Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) items, levels of Interest, Response, Initiation, Involvement, and Enjoyment, were found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that MiDAS has good psychometric properties despite the small sample size. Future research with a larger sample size could provide a more in-depth psychometric evaluation, including further exploration of the underlying factors. MiDAS provides a measure of engagement with musical experience and offers insight into who is likely to benefit on other outcomes such as quality of life or reduction in psychiatric symptoms.
authors: Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, UK.
authors: Orii
authors: O
authors: McDermott
authors: Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, UK.
authors: Vasiliki
authors: V
authors: Orgeta
authors: Doctoral Programme in Music Therapy, Institute for Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Denmark.
authors: Hanne Mette
authors: HM
authors: Ridder
authors: Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, UK.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Orrell
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009147:Music Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015588:Observer Variation; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome