The Development of Direct-Care Staff Social Interaction Coding Schemas for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

Two social interaction coding schemas were developed to measure the dementia competent (DSI) and culturally competent (CSI) social interaction of direct-care staff for persons with dementia in a Korean American nursing home. A pilot study was conducted to assess: feasibility, content validity, inter-rater reliability and the ease of use of both schemas. An expert panel evaluated the content validity of the DSI/CSI. Two research assistants (RAs) simultaneously observed and recorded direct-care staff social interaction encounter during care activities. Twenty-three morning care activities were recorded over a 3-day period. The Index of Content Validity score for the DSI and the CSI was .88 and .80, respectively. Cohen's Kappa ranged from 0.73 to 0.83 for the DSI and 0.69 to 0.82 for the CSI, indicating good to very good inter-rater reliability. RA interviews noted that schemas were easy to use and feasible.