Center for Health Outcomes Research, Health Care Analytics Group, United BioSource Corporation, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2010 May;25(3):239-47. doi: 10.1177/1533317509356690. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
The Dependence Scale (DS) was designed to assess levels of patient need for care due to deficits typical of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study examined content validity of the DS based on input from patients, caregivers, and clinicians.
Qualitative interviews with experts, patients, and caregivers were used to collect information on the concept of dependence and to assess content validity.
Nine clinicians rated item relevance ''high'' with consensus on the primacy of functional abilities and dependence in the measurement of AD progression. Twenty-two US, 11 UK, and 14 informal caregivers from Spain participated in focus groups; 18 patients participated in 3 separate focus groups. Discussion supported DS hierarchy of dependence, capture of mild-to-severe dependence, suitability of response options, and short recall time frame.
Clinicians, caregivers, and patients support content validity of the DS in mild-to-moderate AD. The DS may be valuable to capture dependence within future clinical dementia trials.
依赖量表（DS）旨在评估因阿尔茨海默病（AD）典型缺陷而导致的患者护理需求水平。本研究基于患者、护理人员和临床医生的意见，对 DS 的内容效度进行了检验。
采用专家、患者和护理人员的定性访谈收集有关依赖概念的信息，并评估内容效度。
9 名临床医生对项目相关性的评分“高”，一致认为在衡量 AD 进展时，功能能力和依赖是首要的。来自美国的 22 名、英国的 11 名和西班牙的 14 名非正式护理人员参加了焦点小组；18 名患者参加了 3 个单独的焦点小组。讨论支持 DS 的依赖层次结构、轻度至重度依赖的捕获、反应选项的适宜性和较短的回忆时间框架。
临床医生、护理人员和患者支持 DS 在轻度至中度 AD 中的内容效度。DS 可能对未来的临床痴呆试验中依赖的评估有价值。
