[Perceived quality of life of elderly somatic nursing-home patients. Construction of a measuring instrument]

Abstract

An instrument to assess perceived quality of life of physically frail elderly persons is needed in nursing home research. Four existing instruments (Pain, Somatic Autonomy, Life Satisfaction, Social Isolation) and two new scales (Perceived Safety, Perceived Autonomy) were tested for internal consistency, validity of the dimensional structure, discriminatory power, and feasibility. The scales were administered to 243 physically frail elderly nursing home patients. Three of the existing scales were shown to have sufficient internal consistency (KR-20 > .70), and the two new scales were moderately consistent (KR-20 > .50). The expected dimensions were confirmed in general by principal component analysis of the items. Significant group differences were detected by means of scale means. The mean administration time was 20 minutes. It is concluded that feasible instrument has been developed that can be applied in future research in nursing homes.