Title
What really matters: An inquiry into the relative importance of dimensions of informal caregiver burden
Author
van Exel, N.J.A.
Brouwer, W.B.F.
van den Berg, B.
Koopmanschap, M.A.
van den Bos, G.A.M.
TNO Preventie en Gezondheid
Publication year
2004
Abstract
Objective: Prevailing measures of subjective caregiver burden either have no overall summary score or do not consider the relative importance caregivers attach to different dimensions of burden. Our aim was to assess which dimensions informal caregivers perceive as being important to their overall burden from care giving. Design: Cross-sectional. Subjects: Data were pooled from two Dutch samples of primary informal caregivers covering a wide range of chronic care-giving situations: caregivers for stroke survivors (n = 196) and caregivers for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 131). Main measures: Subjective burden of care giving was assessed using the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) and the Self-Rated Burden scale (SRB). Results: In the total sample four of the five dimensions of the CRA were found to contribute to the overall subjective burden experienced by informal caregivers. In the individual stroke and RA samples only two of the five dimensions emerged as relevant. SRB scores were significantly higher for caregivers of stroke patients, but no differences were found for the five dimensions of the CRA between the two samples. Conclusions: The dimensions of CRA are not equally important to the overall subjective burden of informal caregivers. To assess overall subjective burden, a measure based on a caregiver's own assessment of burden such as SRB needs to be used in addition to prevailing measures. © Arnold 2004.
Subject
Health
Adult
Aged
Body burden
Caregiver
Cerebrovascular accident
Clinical study
Controlled study
Functional assessment
Health status
Major clinical study
Netherlands
Patient care
Quality of life
Rating scale
Rheumatoid arthritis
Scoring system
Self concept
Statistical significance
Task performance
Arthritis, Rheumatoid
Caregivers
Cerebrovascular Accident
Cost of Illness
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Stress, Psychological
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7f08b181-d4d1-43d2-870f-acbdf0514200
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1191/0269215504cr743oa
TNO identifier
237950
ISSN
0269-2155
Source
Clinical Rehabilitation, 18 (6), 683-693
Document type
article