Journal
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
Volume 31, Issue 3, Pages 215-228Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2005.07.010
Keywords
palliative care; instruments; family caregiver; validity; reliability
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Researchers and clinicians leave experienced substantial difficulties locating measures that cure suitable for use within palliative care settings. This article details the psychometric properties of nine instruments designed to assess the following psychosocial characteristics of family caregivers: competence, mastery, self-efficacy, burden, optimism, preparedness, social, support, rewards, and mutuality. Results are based on the responses of 106 primary family caregivers caring for relatives dying of cancer. Principal components extraction with varimax rotation runs used to explore the, underlying structure of each measure. Following the exclusion of complex variables, suggested components for most measures comprised relatively homogenous items, which were good to excellent measures of each component. Some components comprised only two items; however, Cronbach's alphas typically indicated moderate to high levels of internal consistency. Overall, the results of this study suggest that most of the measures analyzed, excepting the mastery and mutuality scales, can be recommended to examine the family caregiver experience and test supportive interventions.
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