A systematic review of measures of social connection for people living in long‐term care homes

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSocial connection is important for quality of life and care in long‐term care (LTC) homes. However, measuring social connection in LTC residents is challenging due to the high prevalence of dementia and the distinct care environment and activities, so research is limited by a lack of consensus on best approaches to measurement. The objective of our study is to systematically review measures of social connection developed for LTC residents, including those with dementia, by evaluating their measurement properties including structural validity, internal consistency, reliability and construct validity.MethodWe are following COnsensus‐based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) systematic review methods. We searched multiple bibliographic databases to November 2021 for studies conducted in LTC residents, which quantified any aspect(s) of social connection, and reported at least one psychometric property for the measure(s) of social connection. We conducted a second targeted search in April 2022 using our list of identified measures, supplemented with a list of measures used in previous research in this population. We are using COSMIN guidelines to evaluate the measurement properties reported for each identified measure.ResultWe identified 68 studies reporting on 35 measures that assess social connection in LTC homes. Twenty‐five were measures of quality of life, wellbeing or life satisfaction and included a social connection subdomain. Only 10 measures specifically targeted social connection. From our pooled evaluation of 20 measures to date, we found that 20% (n = 4) have sufficient structural validity, 15% (n = 3) have sufficient internal consistency, 25% (n = 5) have sufficient reliability, and 15% (n = 3) have sufficient construct validity.ConclusionMany measures have assessed social connection in LTC settings for people living with dementia, but few are designed for this purpose and they often have insufficient psychometric properties. This review will provide detailed evidence of the quality of these measures to enable researchers to prioritize valid and reliable tools. Our results will inform our development of a new person‐centred social connection measurement tool for LTC residents in the Alzheimer’s Association/Brain Canada‐funded Social Connection in Long‐Term Care Home Residents (SONNET) study.