Measuring dimensions of the quality of care in small community residences

Techniques previously used to assess the quality of care in large institutions (cf. Raynes, Pratt, & Roses, 1979) were adapted for a similar study of seven small community residences. Five areas were assessed: daily management practices, the physical environment, resident community involvement, staff-to-resident speech, and staff attitudes. Interitem correlations within each scale were generally high, and validity comparisons between the community residences and the larger institutions of Raynes et al. (1979) showed that scores on the measures were generally superior in the group homes. These dimensions of the caretaking environment varied independently of one another, clearly indicating the need for differentiated evaluation techniques.