Psychometric characteristics of the minimum data set I: confirmatory factor analysis

To determine the structure and statistical reliability of the federally mandated Minimum Data Set (MDS).

Confirmatory, hypothesis-testing factor analysis was performed on MDS protocols of 733 nursing home residents.

All participants were residents of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center.

Participants represented consecutively admitted skilled and intermediate care residents and another pool of residents with probable dementia.

MDS protocols were completed by nurse care coordinators. Item composites hypothesized represented the domains of cognition, activities of daily living, time use, social quality, depression, and problem behaviors.

For higher functioning residents (n = 336) and for all residents together, all domain clusters except social quality were confirmed. None of the domain clusters were confirmed within the more impaired (n = 391) group.

The MDS does provide usable indicators of five areas of basic competence of nursing home residents. Lack of reliability in rating many aspects of the behavior and states of cognitively impaired residents is evident, however. Improvement of such measures and rating procedures constitutes a major research priority.