The CAREPAL-8: a short screening tool for multidimensional family caregiver burden in palliative care

TY - JOUR

T1 - The CAREPAL-8: a short screening tool for multidimensional family caregiver burden in palliative care

AU - Ullrich, Anneke

AU - Bergelt, Corinna

AU - Marx-Rosenberg, Gabriella

AU - Daubmann, Anne

AU - Benze, Gesine

AU - Heine, Julia

AU - Dickel, Lisa-Marie

AU - Wowretzko, Feline

AU - Zhang, Youyou

AU - Bokemeyer, Carsten

AU - Nauck, Friedemann

AU - Oechsle, Karin

PY - 2024/8/2

Y1 - 2024/8/2

N2 - BackgroundFamily caregivers of terminally ill and dying people do not only experience varying levels but also different dimensions of caregiver-related strain and burden. The aim of the study was to develop a short multidimensional screening tool for the detection of burden in family caregivers in palliative care.MethodsFamily caregivers of cancer patients newly admitted to specialist inpatient palliative care (N = 232) completed questionnaires on psychological burden, quality of life, social support and need fulfillment. A latent class mixture model was used to identify discrete classes of family caregivers related to their multidimensional caregiver burden. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the most predictive items from a set of established questionnaires.ResultsFour latent classes of family caregivers were identified: Currently stable caregivers (37%), Caregivers with unmet needs (20%), Psychologically burdened caregivers (30%), and High-risk caregivers (13%). Each of these classes describes a different risk profile of multidimensional family caregiver burden, although family caregivers exhibit high levels of distress across all classes. From a set of 48 items, we identified eight items that predicted the class membership best. These items represent the items of the novel multidimensional screening tool: The 8-item Screening Tool for Family Caregiver Burden in Palliative Care (CAREPAL-8). Except for social support, the items maintained fidelity to the conceptualization of multidimensional caregiver burden used in this study. A preliminary classification system was developed, which has yet to be validated.ConclusionsThis study represents the first step in the establishment of a practical, self-administered screening tool that might help healthcare providers to tailor caregiver care according to their burden in daily practice. Brevity of the 8-item tool might facilitate its use in routine clinical care.

AB - BackgroundFamily caregivers of terminally ill and dying people do not only experience varying levels but also different dimensions of caregiver-related strain and burden. The aim of the study was to develop a short multidimensional screening tool for the detection of burden in family caregivers in palliative care.MethodsFamily caregivers of cancer patients newly admitted to specialist inpatient palliative care (N = 232) completed questionnaires on psychological burden, quality of life, social support and need fulfillment. A latent class mixture model was used to identify discrete classes of family caregivers related to their multidimensional caregiver burden. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the most predictive items from a set of established questionnaires.ResultsFour latent classes of family caregivers were identified: Currently stable caregivers (37%), Caregivers with unmet needs (20%), Psychologically burdened caregivers (30%), and High-risk caregivers (13%). Each of these classes describes a different risk profile of multidimensional family caregiver burden, although family caregivers exhibit high levels of distress across all classes. From a set of 48 items, we identified eight items that predicted the class membership best. These items represent the items of the novel multidimensional screening tool: The 8-item Screening Tool for Family Caregiver Burden in Palliative Care (CAREPAL-8). Except for social support, the items maintained fidelity to the conceptualization of multidimensional caregiver burden used in this study. A preliminary classification system was developed, which has yet to be validated.ConclusionsThis study represents the first step in the establishment of a practical, self-administered screening tool that might help healthcare providers to tailor caregiver care according to their burden in daily practice. Brevity of the 8-item tool might facilitate its use in routine clinical care.

U2 - 10.1186/s12904-024-01480-w

DO - 10.1186/s12904-024-01480-w

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 39095830

VL - 23

SP - 195

JO - BMC PALLIAT CARE

JF - BMC PALLIAT CARE

SN - 1472-684X

IS - 1

ER -