University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications

Title

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Social Connectedness Index in nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease and dementia using the Minimum Data Set 3.0

UMMS Affiliation

Graduate School of Nursing; Division of Epidemiology, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences

Publication Date

2021-02-08

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Geriatric Nursing | Geriatrics | Mental and Social Health | Nervous System Diseases | Psychiatry | Psychiatry and Psychology

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To develop a reliable and valid measure of social connectedness among nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) using items available in the Minimum Dataset 3.0 (MDS).

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective scale development study using the 2016 MDS with two populations of nursing home residents with ADRD: (1) new admissions (not post-acute care) (n = 146,694); (2) residents with comprehensive annual assessments (n = 294,704). Twenty-nine items were included for consideration. Psychometric evaluation included content validity, item analysis, internal consistency reliability, criterion-related validity, and exploratory factor analysis. Analyses were stratified by self- or staff-assessed pain.

RESULTS: The resulting five item Social Connectedness Index (SCI) has good content (Fleiss Kappa = 0.67), criterion-related and construct validity and adequate internal consistency reliability (Kuder Richardson-20: 0.63-0.74) in persons with ADRD. As anticipated, younger residents, men, and those with severe cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression were more likely to be categorized in the low social connectedness group.

CONCLUSION: The SCI is a promising measure for estimating the amount of social connectedness present for nursing home residents with ADRD. Further work needs to be done to evaluate the usefulness of the SCI for evaluating health and well-being among this population over time.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease, dementia, nursing homes, social connectedness

DOI of Published Version

10.1002/gps.5516

Source

Bova CA, Jesdale BM, Mbrah A, Botelho L, Lapane KL. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Social Connectedness Index in nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease and dementia using the Minimum Data Set 3.0. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Feb 8. doi: 10.1002/gps.5516. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33559254. Link to article on publisher's site

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal/Book/Conference Title

International journal of geriatric psychiatry

PubMed ID

33559254

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