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Abstract

Background
Engaging in meaningful activity is an important contributor to well‐being in late life. This study aimed to develop a new measure of meaningful and enjoyable activities in people living with mild dementia.

Methods
The study consisted of four phases: (a) a review of measures of meaningful activity in older people; (b) interviews with people with dementia and their carers (n = 32), (c) expert opinion; and (d) feasibility testing in a pilot randomised controlled trial (n = 63).

Results
The development process resulted in a 20‐item questionnaire. The Meaningful and Enjoyable Activities Scale (MEAS) evidenced appropriate levels of internal consistency (α = .79). Higher scores correlated with higher functional independence (r = −.605, P < .001), patient (r = .330, P = .010) and carer‐rated patient quality of life (r = .505, P < .001). Multiple regression analyses showed that functional independence made a significant independent contribution in predicting higher levels of meaningful activity (F[7,45] = 6.75, P < .001, R2 = .512; β = −.444, P = .001). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a revised three‐factor 9‐item model provided good fit for the data (X2 = 22.74, P = .54, GFI = 0.93, RMSE = 0.00), with leisure‐time physical activity, social engagement and mentally stimulating activities as the key dimensions.

Conclusion
Our study provides support for the construct of meaningful activity in people with mild dementia. Although we find preliminary evidence that the MEAS has adequate psychometric properties, future large scale studies are required to test its validity further and responsiveness to change.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	meaningful activity, measurement, mild dementia, psychological theories of ageing, psychometric properties, reliability, validity
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Nursing
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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