title: Development and validation of a new quality of life scale for patients receiving home-based medical care: The Observational Study of Nagoya Elderly with Home Medical Care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and validate a scale that assesses quality of life in patients receiving home-based medical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A new quality of life scale was developed and evaluated in four phases: (i) item generation; (ii) first field study with a 14-item questionnaire; (iii) preliminary validation study, to reduce the number of items to four; and (iv) second field study comprising 40 patients, to evaluate the validity of the final version. Participants were requested to answer both the final version of the scale and the Short Form-8, to enable identification of any relationship between the two.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Items were generated after discussions with doctors and care managers, and 14 items were selected for the draft version. In the preliminary validation study, 10 items were deleted, based on the results of statistical analysis of the data from the first field study. A psychometric analysis showed that the final four-item questionnaire had internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.7), and a significant association with the Short Form-8.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We created the first quality of life scale for patients receiving home-based medical care. The scale's internal consistency was confirmed, as well as its external validity. This scale can be used independently of factors such as a patient's age, sex, level of independence in the presence of dementia or disability, swallowing function, hearing ability and communication ability, and can be used with ease in routine clinical practice. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 440-448.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Healthcare and Geriatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamitani
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Healthcare and Geriatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Umegaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Aichi Prefectural College of Nursing and Health, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazushi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.affiliation: Minami Health-Medical Cooperative Kaname Hospital, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.affiliation: Sanei Clinic, Komaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.affiliation: Mokuren Clinic, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Aichi Shinryoujyo Nonami, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.affiliation: Kachigawa Family Clinic, Kasugai, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimojima
authors.affiliation: Department of Comprehensive Community Care Systems, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Center for Gerontology and Social Science, Section for Nursing and Care, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Morioka, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Healthcare and Geriatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuzuya
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057189:Checklist; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Short Form-8 health survey; activities of daily living; dementia; home care services; swallowing disorders