Construct Validity of the Mealtime Scan: A Secondary Data Analysis of the Making Most of Mealtimes (M3) Study

AbstractLong-term care (LTC) physical and psychosocial mealtime environments have been inconsistently assessed due to the lack of a standardized measure. The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of a new standardized observational measure, the Mealtime Scan (MTS), using the Making Most of Mealtimes data collected on 639 residents in 82 dining rooms in 32 LTC homes. The MTS includes physical, social, and person-centered care summary scales scored from 1 to 8. Mean ratings on these summary scales were moderate for physical (5.6 SD 0.9), social (5.0 SD 0.9), and person-centered care (PCC; 5.5 SD 0.8). Regression analyses determined which items within the MTS were associated with these summary scales: physical – music (B = 0.27, p = 0.04), number of staff passing food (B = −0.11, p = 0.03), number of residents (B = −0.03, p = 0.01); social – social sound (B =  0.31 p < 0.0001), number of residents requiring eating assistance (B = 0.11, p = 0.02); PCC – lighting (B = 0.01 p = 0.04), and ...