How to measure quality of life in shared-housing arrangements? A comparison of dementia-specific instruments

Purpose The appropriateness of existing quality of life (QoL) instruments in small-scale, homelike care facilities for people with dementia is as yet unknown. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of three QoL instruments in German shared-housing arrangements (SHA). Method A cross-sectional study was conducted in 36 SHA in Berlin to evaluate the acceptability, internal consistency, and validity (construct, convergent, and discriminant) of three QoL instruments: Alzheimer’s Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL), Quality of Life–Alzheimer’s Diseases (QoL-AD), and measuring QUAlity of LIfe in DEMentia (QUALIDEM). Results A total of 104 residents (mean age 79.0 years, 73 % female) were included. All instruments showed good acceptability, with QUALIDEM the best. Adequate levels of internal consistency for the ADRQL and QoL-AD and most of the QUALIDEM domains were found. Validity of all the instruments measuring QoL was confirmed. Conclusions Study findings suggest that QUALIDEM is the preferred instrument to evaluate QoL of residents in SHA, especially due to the high acceptability. Further research is needed to develop and improve these existing measurements.