The Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist for Nursing Homes: Validation among Different Spanish Territories

Abstract

Memory and behavioral difficulties among older people living in nursing homes can cause burden and other consequences in professional caregivers. There is a lack of instruments that evaluate these behaviors and their influence in formal caregivers. The aim of this study is to develop and psychometrically test—the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist for Nursing Homes (RMBPC-NH). A cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample was made up of 312 formal caregivers working in nursing homes from different territories in Spain, 87.5% were women and 12.5% were men. The average age of participants was 39 years (SD = 12.2). The sample was recruited from January 2019 to March 2020. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included sociodemographic information, and assessed quality of technical equipment, level of training, experience of working with older people, job satisfaction, professional quality of life, burnout, and conception of negative stereotypes held towards aging. The four-factor structure of the RMBPC-NH showed a good fit, namely in relation to memory, functional, and emotional factors, and other problems. It has shown adequate psychometric properties, internal consistency, and validity (correlations with professional quality of life, job satisfaction, burnout, and negative stereotypes). The RMBPC-NH is a useful instrument to evaluate the frequency of older people’s memory and behavior problems and professional caregivers’ burden. The practical application in nursing homes is discussed.

Keywords

• behavior problems
• memory problems
• long-term care
• nursing homes
• professional quality of life
• professional caregivers