Sources of Discomfort in Persons with Dementia: Scale and Initial Results

Table 2

Distribution of categories of sources and indicators of discomfort based on the Sources of Discomfort Scale.

Category	Number of indicators/items^a in category	% of participants manifesting the category	Average number of sources/indicators/items (SD)	Range of sources/indicators/items
Physical sources of discomfort	8	75%	1.04 (.89)	0–5
Body Position	6	66%	1.02 (.97)	0–4
Environmental sources	6	46%	.92 (.96)	0–4
Total SODS	20	91%	2.98 (2.11)	0–10
Type of item
Verbal items	6	21%	.29 (.62)	0–3
Observable items	20	90%	2.79 (2.00)	0–8

Note: items refer to specific questions, whereas indicators refer to sources of discomfort. For example, 3 items on the SODS address the indicator of cold temperature. The first 4 lines of the table refer to indicators, whereas the last two refer to items.