Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Caring Scale for Institutionalized Elders

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nursing Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• A validated scale is needed to assess care efficacy from the perspective of institutionalized older adults.
• Existing tools are insufficient for measuring caretaker interactions in long-term care.
• Improved caring knowledge and skills are essential for nurses and caretakers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a psychometrically sound scale for measuring care efficacy in institutionalized older adults.
• To explore the psychometric structure of the developed caring scale.

Main Methods:

• Scale development involved literature reviews and interviews, followed by item analysis and content validity testing.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on data from 300 and 216 institutionalized older adults, respectively.
• The study was conducted in Taiwan between 2011 and 2013.

Main Results:

• Confirmatory factor analysis supported a 12-item, two-factor structure for the scale.
• The scale demonstrated good fit indices (e.g., CFI = .958, RMSEA = .069).
• Reliability was acceptable, with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from .827 to .907.

Conclusions:

• The developed 12-item scale possesses satisfactory validity and reliability for assessing care efficacy in institutionalized older adults.
• The scale can be utilized to enhance the quality of care in long-term care facilities.
• Further research is recommended to evaluate the scale's applicability across diverse populations.