An international psychometric testing of the care dependency scale

In an international study, psychometric properties of the Care Dependency S cale (CDS) were examined by analysing data gathered in Dutch, Canadian, Ita lian and Norwegian nursing homes. For that purpose, from these countries a convenience sample was developed consisting of 525 patients with dementia. The English, Italian and Norwegian research instruments were translations o f the original Dutch CDS. Psychometric evaluations of the CDS were carried out for each country separately as well as for the four countries combined. High alpha coefficients between 0.94 and 0.97 were calculated. Subsequent test-retest and inter-rater reliability revealed moderate to substantial Ka ppa values. Factor analysis resulted in a one-factor solution. The scalabil ity of the CDS was demonstrated by means of Mokken scale analysis. One of t he main outcomes of the cross-cultural comparison was that the findings in the four countries show more similarities than differences, so that the sca le can be used appropriately in nursing home practice.