The development of a procedure for the evaluation of communication occurring between residents in long-term care and their caregivers

Abstract

An evaluation procedure was developed for describing communication occurring between residents and their caregivers in long-term care institutions, the MECQ-LTC. The procedure was based on previous work describing communication in long-term care (Le Dorze et al. 1994) and is divided into two major sections examining: (1) the frequency of use of various means of communication used by residents and caregivers; and (2) the number of communication acts realized by a resident. After extensive pre-tests, a content validity study was undertaken with speech-language therapists and other health professionals. A criterion validity study with 31 residents with aphasia (n=15) or with dementia (n=16) and 62 nurses relatively familiar with these residents, demonstrated significant correlations between the number of communication acts realized and another measure of functional communication, the REFCP interaction analysis (Wirz et al. 1990). Inter-judge and intra-judge reliability was sufficient and satisfactory. An evaluation of the MECQ-LTC's sensitivity pointed out differences in communication impairment associated with aphasia and dementia. The results of this psychometric study are discussed in terms of further research and in terms of clinical uses.