KMID : 1100920210420010031
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Korean Journal of Family Medicine 2021 Volume.42 No. 1 p.31 ~ p.37
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A Novel Scale for Assessing the Burden of Caregiving for Functionally Compromised Patients: Proposal and Validation
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Kaliya-Perumal Arun-Kumar
Korlakunta Anupama Kharlukhi Jacquilyne Devireddy Sarada
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Abstract
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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 ¥á 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.
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KEYWORD
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Caregivers, Cost of Illness, Dependency, Disability Evaluation, Surveys and Questionnaires
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