Korean J Fam Med.  2021 Jan;42(1):31-37. 10.4082/kjfm.19.0063.

A Novel Scale for Assessing the Burden of Caregiving for Functionally Compromised Patients: Proposal and Validation

• Kaliya-Perumal AK
• Korlakunta A
• Kharlukhi J
• Devireddy S

• KMID: 2511543
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.19.0063

Abstract

Background
Disability not only burdens the patient, but also the caregiver. To quantify this caregiving burden, we propose a simple four-part questionnaire tool. Our objective is to validate this questionnaire by administering it to caregivers who oversee patients with low back pain and are functionally compromised.
Methods
Twenty-five spouse caregivers who were taking care of in-patients awaiting surgery for various lumbar spine pathologies were shortlisted. The content-validated questionnaire was administered on different occasions during the care recipient’s treatment. Cronbach’s α was calculated to assess internal consistency. Interrelationships between the care recipient’s pain score, extent of functional compromise, and caregiver burden were calculated. The questionnaire’s ability to track changes in the caregivers’ attitudes over time was assessed.
Results
The percentage of caregiver burden before the surgery of the care recipient was 52.5. This increased significantly to 61.1% (P=0.001) 3 days after surgery, but was found to decrease to 32.5% (P<0.001) a month after the surgery; demonstrating the questionnaire’s efficacy to track changes. Cronbach’s alpha of 0.948 signifies the questionnaire’s excellent internal consistency. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) between the care recipient’s pain score and caregiver’s burden score was 0.41 (P=0.04), and between the care recipient’s disability score and caregiver’s burden score was 0.9 (P<0.001).
Conclusion
The proposed questionnaire is consistent and can track changes in a caregiver’s attitude over time. It can be adopted for clinical use to assess the burden of caregiving for functionally compromised patients.

Keyword

Caregivers; Cost of Illness; Dependency; Disability Evaluation; Surveys and Questionnaires