How long-term care quality assurance measures address dementia in Australia, England, Japan, and the United States

The prevalence of people with dementia living in long-term care (LTC) is high and rising internationally, and the need to improve LTC for people with dementia is widely recognized. In some countries, LTC quality assurance programs use quantitative measures of LTC quality. To better understand how LTC quality assurance programs address dementia, programs were reviewed in four countries—Australia, England, Japan, and the United States. Quality measures from each program were identified (n = 38) and examined to determine how they address dementia. Most measures did not address dementia, but four risk-adjusted for dementia (antipsychotic use, fractures, falls, mobility), one was dementia-specific (dementia/delirium hospitalizations), and one excluded people with dementia (losing bowel/bladder control). Results show LTC quality measurement differs internationally, but few measures address dementia. Needed are new quality measures of direct import for people with dementia, for example through adoption of measures that are meaningful to people with dementia