Dementia care mapping as a research tool

Abstract

Despite the identified limitations, DCM has promise as a research measure, as it may come closer to rating QOL from the perspective of persons with dementia than other available measures. Its utility will depend on the manner in which it is applied and an appreciation of the measure's strength and limitations. Possible changes that might improve the reliability, validity, and practicality of DCM as a research tool include coding the predominant event (rather than the 'best' event), shortening the observation period, and adding '0' as a neutral WIB coding option.

The physical environment, activity and interaction in residential care facilities for older people: a comparative case study

“…The data regarding resident activities were collected using an adapted version of the DCM (33). The original DCM is widely used in dementia care (36)(37)(38). The adapted version emphasises activities can be used to observe people with or without dementia and has been validated against measures of well-being and quality of life among older people (39).…”

“…During the next sweep, other people were selected, and the process was repeated until all included residents were observed. If more than one BCC was observed at a given observation point, then the activity that indicated a more social or engaged behaviour was coded (38).…”

Staff–resident interactions in long-term care for people with dementia: the role of meeting psychological needs in achieving residents’ well-being

“…DCM is both an observational tool and a practice development process (Brooker, 2005). Developed by Kitwood and Bredin (1992) over 20 years ago as a methodology for achieving and embedding person-centred care, DCM is used in clinical practice (Edvardsson & Innes, 2010) for evaluation (Campbell & Davis, 2011) and research (Sloane et al, 2007). DCM yields both quantitative and qualitative data about the experience of care from the perspective of the person with dementia.…”

Using appreciative inquiry to implement person-centred dementia care in hospital wards

“…Personal detractions (consisting of staff-patient interactions when patients are observed to undermine the personhood of the patient) and personal enhancers (consisting of staff-patient interactions when the patient's wellbeing is sustained) were collected as field notes. Although it has some limitations, DCM is an acceptable observational research tool to measure the quality of care of persons with dementia in formal care settings (Brooker 2005;Sloane et al, 2007;Chenoweth & Jeon 2007;Cooke & Chaudhury, 2012).…”