A new test of the construct validity of the CarerQol instrument: measuring the impact of informal care giving

Abstract

PurposeMost economic evaluations of health care programmes do not consider the effects of informal care, while this could lead to suboptimal policy decisions. This study investigates the construct validity of the CarerQol instrument, which measures and values carer effects, in a new population of informal caregivers.MethodsA questionnaire was distributed by mail (n = 1,100, net response rate = 21%) to regional informal care support centers throughout the Netherlands. Two types of construct validity, i.e., convergent and clinical validity, have been analyzed. Convergent validity was assessed with Spearman’s correlation coefficients and multivariate correlation between the burden dimensions (CarerQol-7D) and the valuation component (CarerQol-VAS) of the CarerQol. Additionally, convergent validity was analyzed with Spearman’s correlation coefficients between the CarerQol and other measures of subjective caregiver burden (SRB, PU). Clinical validity was evaluated with multivariate correlation between CarerQol-VAS and CarerQol-7D, characteristics of caregivers, care recipients and care situation among the whole sample of caregivers and subgroups.ResultsThe positive (negative) dimensions of CarerQol-7D were positively (negatively) related to CarerQol-VAS, and almost all had moderate strength of convergent validity. CarerQol-VAS was positively associated with PU and negatively with SRB. The CarerQol-VAS reflects differences in important background characteristics of informal care: type of relationship, age of the care recipient and duration of care giving were associated with higher CarerQol-VAS scores. These results confirmed earlier tests of the construct validity of the CarerQol. Furthermore, the dimensions of CarerQol-7D significantly explained differences in CarerQol-VAS scores among subgroups of carers.ConclusionNotwithstanding the limitations of our study, such as the low response rate, this study shows that the CarerQol provides a valid means to measure carer effects for use in economic evaluations. Future research should derive a valuation set for the CarerQol and further address the instrument’s content validity, sensitivity and reliability.

Sustained informal care: The feasibility, construct validity and test–retest reliability of the CarerQol-instrument to measure the impact of informal care in long-term care

“…In this study, the strength of the Spearman's correlation coefficients is indicated by the guideline of Hopkins (2002): 50.1 trivial; 0.1-0.3 small; 0.3-0.5 moderate; 0.5-0.7 high; 0.7-0.9 very high; 40.9 nearly perfect, and by comparison with previous studies (Brouwer et al, 2006;Hoefman et al, 2011). We consider correlations of small to moderate strength or higher as a sign of validity, because happiness is a broad outcome measure and may not only relate to care giving, but might also be influenced by other aspects of life, and by the care recipient's bad health condition ('family-effect'; Bobinac et al, 2010a;Brouwer et al, 2010).…”

“…Previous studies analysed feasibility and construct validity of the instrument among carers providing informal care at home (Brouwer et al, 2006;Hoefman, Van Exel, Looren de Jong, Redekop, & Brouwer, 2011), but did not address the reliability of the CarerQol-instrument. Moreover, no information is available on the psychometric properties of the instrument among carers of LTC users.…”

“…The feasibility of the CarerQol-instrument was assessed using percentages of respondents with missing values (Brouwer et al, 2006;Hoefman et al, 2011;van Exel et al, 2004a). Missing values were computed for the complete CarerQol-instrument, the CarerQol-VAS, the CarerQol-7D and for separate CarerQol-7D dimensions.…”

Aspectos psicológicos da qualidade de vida de cuidadores de idosos: uma revisão integrativa

“…Melhor saúde física do cuidador foi relacionada com maiores escores na escala de felicidade 43 e maior satisfação. 41 Da mesma forma, pior saúde física do cuidador foi relacionada com menor bem-estar psicológico, 32,35 pior qualidade de vida física e mental, menos afeto positivo 22 e menor satisfação.…”

“…44 E os menores com maior felicidade. 25,26,43 A sobrecarga também foi negativamente associada com a dimensão psicológica da qualidade de vida. 37,38 Os estudos corroboram a importância de se avaliar e intervir na sobrecarga percebida.…”