Consumer Access, Appraisal, and Application of Services and Information for Dementia (CAAASI-Dem): a validation study

Objectives: The Consumer Access, Appraisal, and Application of Services and Information for Dementia (CAAASI-Dem) was developed to examine individuals' self-assessed confidence in their ability to access, appraise and use dementia services and information. The CAAASI-Dem is the only tool to date to measure this crucial component of dementia literacy. This study was designed to validate its structural validity.Method: Data was collected from 3277 participants enrolled in an on-line dementia course. The five-factor structure of the CAAASI-Dem, which was derived from a previous exploratory factor analysis, was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and known-groups validity were assessed. Results: The five-factor model demonstrated good fit with the observed data with the removal of 2 items and movement of 1 item across the factors. The resultant 24-item five-factor CAAASI-Dem showed very good sub-scale internal reliability and satisfactory convergent and divergent validity. There was good discrimination between groups of participants with different levels of care experience.Conclusion: The results provided evidence for the 24-item CAAASI-Dem as a valid and reliable five-dimensional scale. Limitations of the study are discussed, and recommendations are made for future research and practice.