Development and Validation of "Caregiver Burden Scale-Indian Population"

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Sociology
• Healthcare research

Background:

• Caregiver burden is a neglected area, with existing instruments lacking cultural validity in diverse regions.
• Developing culturally appropriate tools is crucial for accurate assessment of caregiver burden.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and standardize a culturally relevant instrument for assessing caregiver burden in the Indian subcontinent and other Asian countries.
• To establish the content and construct validity of the Caregiver Burden Scale-Indian Population (CBS-IP).

Main Methods:

• The study involved 125 caregivers of patients with chronic neurological illnesses.
• Content validity was established using expert and caregiver opinions and the Content Validity Index (CVI).
• Construct validity was assessed by correlating the CBS-IP with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised.

Main Results:

• The scale-level CVI (S-CVI) showed universal agreement of 0.889 and an average of 0.898.
• Item-level CVI was 0.90, indicating strong content validity.
• Correlations with personality traits showed significant association with extraversion (r = -0.440, P = 0.002).

Conclusions:

• The Caregiver Burden Scale-Indian Population (CBS-IP) is a reliable and valid instrument.
• The CBS-IP can be effectively used to evaluate stressors on informal caregivers in India and potentially other Asian nations.