A Measurement-to-Management Tool to Improve Dementia Care

该项目的主要长期目标是开发一种有用，实用，有效和可靠的工具，以改善痴呆症护理环境中人们的生活质量（QOL）。该项目的具体目标包括开发和评估用户友好的软件和程序，以收集和管理生活质量数据，并产生护理相关信息;并评估该系统在不同痴呆症护理环境中的实施情况。次要的长期目标包括：（1）提高痴呆症护理人员的满意度，（2）提高这些参与者的家庭成员的满意度，（3）提高痴呆症护理计划的市场化程度，以及（4）开发基准痴呆症特异性QOL数据。生活质量包括主观因素和客观因素。例如，怀特豪斯等人将认知功能、日常生活活动、社会互动和心理健康纳入其中。拟议的项目使用一种观察程序，重点关注痴呆症患者的参与度和情感/情绪水平，以测量QOL。本研究将评估的可行性，实用性和实用性的数据收集，数据管理，并在手持设备上实现信息生成的生活质量系统。将开发手持掌上电脑上的用户友好型软件和程序，以记录和管理痴呆症特异性生活质量数据，并生成护理相关信息。三个痴呆症护理机构的两名工作人员-养老院，辅助生活设施和成人日间计划-将接受使用该系统的培训。工作人员将在每个站点收集数据并生成关于五名痴呆症患者的报告。对研究中心工作人员参与者进行的调查和访谈，以及直接在手持式掌上电脑上收集的数据，将提供以下方面的评价性反馈：数据收集的难易程度;生成报告的难易程度和有用性; QOL系统与护理环境中典型日之间的匹配性以及系统造成的典型日的任何中断;信息使用的具体方式;改进系统每个组件的建议;过程中发生的错误和帮助菜单的使用等指标。这些数据将用于改进系统的功能，以更好地满足用户的需求。公共卫生相关性：OQOLD（观察痴呆症患者的生活质量）系统是一个可靠，有效和实用的工具，供研究人员，从业人员和评估人员获取有关痴呆症患者在专业护理，辅助生活和成人日常环境中的生活质量数据。OQOLD将使服务提供者能够确定最大限度地提高痴呆症患者生活质量的活动，从而实现更积极的以人为本的互动。其他益处包括提高评估新活动/干预措施影响的能力，以及开发定量信息，这些信息可以为员工培训提供信息，与家庭成员分享他们所爱的人的生活，并由评估人员用于更准确地评估痴呆症护理环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary long-term goal of this project is to develop a useful, practical, valid, and reliable tool to improve the quality of life (QOL) of people in dementia care settings. Specific objectives of this project include developing and evaluating user-friendly software and procedures to collect and manage QOL data and produce care-relevant information; and evaluate the implementation of the system in diverse dementia care settings. Secondary long-term goals include: (1) increased satisfaction of dementia care staff, (2) increased satisfaction of family members of these participants, (3) improved marketability of the dementia care programs, and (4) developing benchmarking dementia-specific QOL data. Quality of life includes both subjective and objective elements. For instance, Whitehouse et al. include the integration of cognitive functioning, activities of daily living, social interaction, and psychological well-being. The proposed project uses an observational procedure that focuses on the level of engagement and affect/emotion of people with dementia to measure QOL. This study will assess the feasibility, practicality, and usefulness of a QOL system of data collection, data management, and information-generation implemented on a handheld device. User-friendly software on a hand-held Pocket PC and procedures to record and manage dementia-specific QOL data and produce care-relevant information will be developed. Two staff members in three dementia care settings - a nursing home, an assisted living facility, and an adult day program - will be trained to use the system. Staff will collect data and generate reports regarding five people with dementia on two occasions at each site. Surveys and interviews with site staff participants, as well as data collected directly on the hand-held Pocket PC, will provide evaluative feedback regarding: the ease of data collection; the ease and usefulness of generating reports; the fit between the QOL system and a typical day in the care setting and any disruptions in the typical day caused by the system; specific ways in which the information could be used; suggestions for improving each component of the system; metrics such as errors that occurred during the process and the use of help menus. These data will be used to improve the functionality of the system to better meet the needs of users. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The OQOLD (Observing Quality of Life in Dementia) system is a reliable, valid, and practical tool for researchers, practitioners, and assessors to obtain quality of life data about people with dementia in skilled care, assisted living, and adult day settings. OQOLD will enable service providers to identify activities that maximize quality of life of people with dementia resulting in more positive person-centered interactions. Additional benefits include improved ability to assess the impact of new activities/interventions, and developing quantitative in- formation that can inform staff training, be shared with family members regarding their loved ones life, and be used by assessors to more accurately evaluate dementia care settings.