Developing and piloting the QOMID – quality outcome measure for individuals with intellectual disabilities and dementia

Abstract

Purpose – Outcome measurement is a key priority for services. There are no papers on specific overall quality outcome measures for people with intellectual disabilities who have dementia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and piloting of a new measure. Design/methodology/approach – A process was developed to measure quality outcomes across all stages of dementia. The reliability of the tool was measured using Cronbach’s α coefficients, along with data about its clinical utility. Findings – The QOMID has good reliability, face validity and internal reliability suggesting that all domains contribute equally towards the construct of quality outcome. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that there may be four or five sub-factors within the QOMID, The clinical utility of the assessment tool was explored and it can be concluded that the QOMID is simple, fairly quick and effective. Research limitations/implications – The scale has good psychometric properties and the initial parameters for the QOMID were met. Further exploration of factors needs to be considered with a larger sample of participants. Practical implications – The scale was liked by assessors and gives a practical tool that can both measure the quality outcome for people at each stage of their dementia, and help to develop more effective care plans. Originality/value – This is the first measure to look at quality outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities and dementia and which takes a staged approach.