Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Orienteering as a Tool for Cognitive Research: An Implementation Guide
Published on: November 29, 2024
Dementia care mapping as a research tool
Philip D Sloane1, Dawn Brooker, Lauren Cohen
1Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. psloane@med.unc.edu
Introduction:
Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) was originally developed as a clinical tool but has attracted interest as a potential observational measure of quality of life (QOL) and well-being of long-term care residents with dementia. DCM coding involves continuous observation over a 6-h period, with observers recording a Behavior Category Code (BCC, a recording of activity/interaction) and a Well/Ill Being (WIB) score at 5 min intervals.
Method:
Descriptive data from several different research teams on the distribution and psychometric properties of DCM data were compiled and summarized.
Results:
Issues and problems identified include: complex scoring algorithms, inter-rater reliability of the BCCs, limited variability of WIB values, associations between resident characteristics and DCM assessments, rater time burden, and comparability of results across study settings.
Conclusions:
Despite the identified limitations, DCM has promise as a research measure, as it may come closer to rating QOL from the perspective of persons with dementia than other available measures. Its utility will depend on the manner in which it is applied and an appreciation of the measure's strength and limitations. Possible changes that might improve the reliability, validity, and practicality of DCM as a research tool include coding the predominant event (rather than the 'best' event), shortening the observation period, and adding '0' as a neutral WIB coding option.
Related Concept Videos
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual.
Dementia l: Introduction
Documentation in Long-Term and Home Healthcare Setting
Long-Term Care Facilities
Methods of Documentation IV: Focus Charting
It typically involves three columns for recording information:
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
