Person-directed care (PDC) is an approach focused on the individuality and worth of each person as they receive care in long-term care settings. The Oregon initiative of the Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) program aimed to implement PDC practices in long-term care settings.

This article details the development and testing of a PDC measure. Expert research and practice groups worked with the article’s authors to create test items. The authors also designated five dimensions of PDC: personhood, knowing the person, autonomy and choice, comfort care and nurturing relationships. A supportive environment was conceptualized as another construct. The resulting measure consisted of 64 items and was administered to 430 staff from organizations participating in the Oregon BJBC program. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to ascertain the composition of the PDC measure.

Key Findings:                       

• Once items were dropped from the measure it yielded a structure consisting of five PDC constructs and three environmental support constructs.
• Environmental support constructs were support for work with residents, person-directed environment for residents and management/structural support.
• Internal consistency and conceptual distinctiveness were achieved for all constructs. Constructs also were positively correlated with one another.

The PDC measure is a promising way to assess PDC and ascertain if long-term care facilities are working toward attaining PDC goals. Future work with the PDC measure could include more testing and assessment of staff perspectives on PDC.