Abstract
PurposeOur aim was to examine whether quality of life which was repeatedly assessed over time is related with the comprehensive assessment of quality of life (QoL) and thereby to validate a brief QoL assessment.MethodThis longitudinal study used a comprehensive assessment of quality of life at baseline (QUALIDEM; 37 items) to validate an eight-item version of QUALIDEM to assess momentary quality of life which was repeatedly administered using a tablet device after baseline. In all, 150 people with dementia from 10 long-term facilities participated. Momentary quality of life and comprehensive quality of life, age, gender, activities of daily living (Barthel Index), Functional assessment staging (FAST), and Geriatric Depression (GDS) have been assessed.ResultsComprehensive and momentary quality of life showed good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha of .86 and .88 to .93, respectively. For multiple associations of momentary quality of life with the comprehensive quality of life, momentary quality of life was significantly related to comprehensive quality of life (B = .14, CI .08/.20) and GDS (B = − .13, CI − .19/− .06). More specifically, the comprehensive QUALIDEM subscales ‘positive affect’, ‘negative affect’, ‘restlessness’, and ‘social relationships’ showed significant positive associations with momentary quality of life (p < .001).ConclusionWe found that momentary quality of life, reliably assessed by tablet, was associated with comprehensive measures of quality of life and depressive symptoms in people with dementia. Broader use of tablet-based assessments within frequent QoL measurements may enhance time management of nursing staff and may improve the care quality and communication between staff and people with dementia.
Highlights
As there is not yet a curative treatment for dementia, a major goal of caring for people with dementia (PwD) is the maintenance of quality of life (QoL)
We found that Geriatric Depression (GDS) was substantially and negatively related with momentary QoL
We found subscales for positive and negative affect, restlessness, and social relationships that were significantly related with momentary QoL
Summary
As there is not yet a curative treatment for dementia, a major goal of caring for people with dementia (PwD) is the maintenance of quality of life (QoL). Even though there is a consensus about the importance of QoL as a goal of care in PwD, there is still a debate about theory, assessment, and factors associated with QoL in PwD [4]. Focusing on the psychosocial domains of QoL in PwD, the QoL assessment tool QUALIDEM showed the best acceptability interviewing PwD and their proxies. It was considered as acceptable in the long and short forms profiling PwD with mild-to-very severe stages of dementia living in nursing homes [4, 7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
