Development of the questionnaire on palliative care for advanced dementia (qPAD)

Abstract

The Questionnaire on Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia (qPAD) is a 2-part instrument that measures long-term care staff knowledge, and beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes about palliative and end-of-life care for persons with advanced dementia. Factor analyses of the Knowledge Test (coefficient α =.81) produced 3 factors: Anticipating Needs, Preventing Negative Outcomes, and Insight and Intuition (coefficient α =.75.73, and.58, respectively), explaining 67% of the total variance. Factor analyses of the Attitude Scale (coefficient α =.83) produced 3 factors: Job Satisfaction, Perceptions and Beliefs, and Work Setting Support of Families (coefficient α =.90,.64, and.67, respectively), explaining 68% of the total variance. These initial findings hold promise for an instrument that measures both knowledge and attitudes of long-term care staff in the care of persons with advanced dementia. © The Author(s) 2012.