Using qualitative methods to develop a measure of resident-to-resident elder mistreatment in nursing homes.

The field of elder abuse research has progressed over the past decade, with proliferation of national and regional prevalence studies and increased attention to sub-types of abuse such as financial exploitation and psychological abuse. However, there is consensus in the field that a major hindrance to better research is the lack of reliable and valid measures of elder mistreatment (Cooper et al., 2008; Pillemer et al., 2006). A particularly pressing need is for measures of abuse that occurs in long-term care facilities. Although the prevalence of interpersonal aggression is well-documented in nursing homes, few attempts have been made to resolve the difficulties of measuring abuse in these settings (Pillemer et al., 2012). This article focuses on the potential of systematically combining a set of qualitative methods to develop close-ended survey items to measure resident-to-resident elder mistreatment (R-REM), a subject about which knowledge is scarce. First, we present a contextual framework for measure development, including a brief background on R-REM and the challenges associated with its assessment. The purpose and results of each qualitative method used for item development follows. Finally, the benefits and limitations of this approach are discussed. Qualitative methods can augment the quality of quantitative survey items by offering insight into the interpretation and conceptualization of items (Krause, 2006). Qualitative methods for measure development are particularly beneficial in comparative research because they are focused on the assessment of conceptual equivalence across groups that represent populations with diverse socio-demographic profiles (e.g., race, ethnicity, age, education level). Although the use of qualitative methods for measure development has increased in social research, it is relatively rare to find a detailed description of how methods were implemented for the development of measures of elder mistreatment. This article addresses this gap, providing a methodology for creating better measurement of the pressing and complex problem of R-REM.