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The caregiver reaction assessment: psychometrics, and temporal stability in primary caregivers of Norwegian cancer patients in late palliative phase
Author(s) -
Grov Ellen Karine,
Fosså Sophie D.,
Tønnessen Arnfinn,
Dahl Alv A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.987
Subject(s) - norwegian , hospital anxiety and depression scale , palliative care , anxiety , internal consistency , psychometrics , medicine , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , baseline (sea) , psychology , cancer , psychiatry , nursing , linguistics , oceanography , economics , macroeconomics , geology , philosophy
Background : Limited research has been done on the situation of primary caregivers (PCs) to patients staying at home with cancer in the palliative phase. This study uses the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) to examine PCs caregiver burden and well‐being. Patients and methods : The sample consisted of 85 PCs examined at baseline, among them 42 were re‐examined four months later. We explored the psychometric properties of the CRA at baseline, and introduced a CRA sum score. The CRA sum score was correlated with the Short Form 36 (SF‐36) and The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores. Results : The internal consistency of the CRA dimensions varied between alpha 0.57 and 0.85, and the factor structure was in line with earlier studies. The CRA sum score correlated significantly with all mental dimensions on the SF‐36 and the HADS. At baseline the PCs showed significantly worse scores except for family support when compared to newly diagnosed cancer patients. The mean scores on the CRA dimensions as well as the total score did not change significantly from baseline to follow‐up. Conclusion : We have confirmed the psychometric properties of the CRA, which seems to be an appropriate instrument for assessment the PCs caregiver situation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.