title: The Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale: validity and reliability assessments.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore construct validity and reliability of the Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The concept of thriving emphasizes person-environment interaction in relation to well-being. The Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale has been developed and evaluated as a self-report and proxy scale based on the theory of thriving.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey design.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale was completed by a sample of 259 residents, 146 family members and 52 staff from 13 long-term care facilities in Norway and Sweden. Data were collected between April 2010-December 2011. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to explore construct validity in terms of factor structure and dimensionality of the 32-item scale in relation to the thriving theory. Reliability was explored through internal consistency estimation using Cronbach's alpha and through homogeneity evaluation using corrected item-total correlations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exploratory factor analysis resulted in five factors (subscales) that corresponded meaningfully with the thriving theory and were labelled 1: Resident' attitudes towards being in long-term care; 2: Quality of care and caregivers; 3: Resident engagement and peer relationships; 4: Keeping in touch with people and places; and 5: Quality of the physical environment. The scale had satisfactory internal consistency and homogeneity estimates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 32-item Thriving of Older People Assessment Scale can be regarded as construct valid and reliable. Its factor structure corresponded logically to the thriving theory and its factors showed satisfactory internal consistency and homogeneity. Nevertheless, the TOPAS would benefit from further testing in other populations and contexts.
authors.affiliation: Lovisenberg Diaconal University College, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ådel
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Bergland
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kirkevold
authors.forename: Per-Olof
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Sandman
authors.forename: Dag
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hofoss
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Edvardsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D009735:Nursing Homes; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D013548:Sweden
keywords: instrument development; long-term care; long-term care facilities; nursing; psychometrics; thriving