The Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQOLC) Scale: revalidation in a home hospice setting

Hospices provide palliative care to persons who are dying and supportive care to their family caregivers. As death approaches, these family caregivers become increasingly responsible for providing the majority of daily care. Although research has documented their distress, little work has evaluated the broader impact of caregiving on quality of life (QOL). This study reevaluates the internal consistency and validity of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQOLC). 239 family caregivers of hospice patients with a variety of cancer diagnoses participated. Internal consistency for the instrument was 0.87. There were moderate correlations with overall mental health (r = 0.68) and low correlations with overall physical health (r = 0.01). Low correlations were observed with patient's performance status (r = 0.09). The CQOLC appears to possess adequate validity and internal consistency in this revalidation sample.