The development of a comprehensive needs assessment tool for cancer‐caregivers in patient–caregiver dyads
- 22 October 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Psycho‐Oncology
- Vol. 20 (12), 1342-1352
- https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.1857
Abstract
Objective: The assessment of a caregiver's needs is a critical step for determining appropriate support services, providing high quality care, and achieving caregiver satisfaction. However, a systematic assessment of family caregiver's needs is rarely practiced. This study reports the development and validation of a comprehensive needs assessment tool for cancer caregivers (CNAT‐C). Methods: Items of CNAT‐C were generated through literature review and refined through expert consultation and caregiver interview, and pilot test. Final 41‐item needs assessment tool for cancer was developed and validated in a large‐scale multi‐center survey involving 600 cancer patients‐family caregiver dyads in 10 cancer centers fairly distributed throughout Korea. Results: The content validity of CNAT‐C was established throughout the development process. Principal component analysis resulted in a seven‐factor structure explaining 66.4% of the total variance: (1) health and psychological problems (6 items), (2) family/social support (5 items), (3) health‐care staff (8 items), (4) information (8 items), (5) religious/spiritual support (2 items), (6) hospital facilities and services (6 items), and (7) practical support (6 items). The Cronbach alpha was 0.96 for the total scale, and those for the subscales ranged from 0.79 to 0.95. Caregiver needs were not highly correlated with patient needs when compared domain‐by‐domain. Known‐group validity was also supported by the tool's ability to detect significant differences according to various patient and caregiver characteristics. Conclusions: The CNAT‐C appears to be a valid and reliable measure to assess comprehensive and multidimensional needs in caregivers of cancer patients. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- Impact of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment on work-related life and factors affecting themBreast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2008
- Caregiver AssessmentThe American Journal of Nursing, 2008
- Life after cancer: couples’ and partners’ psychological adjustment and supportive care needsSupportive Care in Cancer, 2006
- Self-Reported Sleep Quality in Family Caregivers of Gastric Cancer Patients Who Are Receiving Chemotherapy in KoreaJournal of Cancer Education, 2006
- Psychiatric Disorders and Mental Health Service Use Among Caregivers of Advanced Cancer PatientsJournal of Clinical Oncology, 2005
- Towards a new clinical tool for needs assessment in the palliative care of cancer patients: the PNPC instrumentJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2004
- THE NEEDS OF CANCER PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES FROM RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS OF QUEENSLANDAustralian Journal of Rural Health, 2002
- What do patients living with advanced cancer and their carers want to know? – A needs assessmentSupportive Care in Cancer, 2002
- Concise Screening Questions for Clinical Assessments of Terminal Care: The Needs Near the End-of-Life Care Screening ToolJournal of Palliative Medicine, 2001
- Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of testsPsychometrika, 1951