The National Family Caregiver Support Program: A Multivariate Examination of State-Level Implementation

Progress and Policy Opportunities in Family Caregiver Assessment: Results From a National Survey

Family caregivers play an essential role in long-term services and supports (LTSS). Despite numerous calls for robust caregiver assessment policies to determine needs and treat them as partners in care planning, there has been limited information about whether or how states assess caregiver needs and strengths, or use caregiver information. Using cross-sectional survey data from the 2015 Process Evaluation of the Older Americans Act National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), this study analyzes caregiver assessment policies and practices in 54 State Units on Aging, 619 Area Agencies on Aging, and 642 local service providers. It examines whether and for what purposes caregiver assessments are used, what domains are included, and how well current policies conform to recommended practice. It also recommends that policy makers who influence NFCSP and other LTSS programs develop caregiver assessment practices using a multidimensional framework including more caregiver-focused domains and utilizing assessment data to measure program outcomes.

Psychometric properties of the Hebrew version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale short version

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Hebrew version of the Zarit Burden Interview (H-ZBI) short version.

METHOD

Cross-sectional research methodology was used to measure the caregiver burden felt by informal family caregivers of cognitively intact but physically frail older family members. Data of this study were drawn from two convenience samples that included altogether 456 dyads of family caregivers and care recipients in Israel. Caregivers included adult children, spouses, and other relatives of the care recipients.

RESULTS

The H-ZBI short version demonstrated good psychometric properties similar to those of the English version. Internal consistency of Cronbach's alpha was high (α = 0.85) and the measure showed good convergent and exploratory validity due to significant correlations with Caregiving Burden Scale, caregivers' quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life, WHOQOL-Brief), perceived health and economic statuses, as well as with health and functional statuses of care recipients. Factor analysis showed two loading factors.

CONCLUSIONS

The scale can be a useful screening instrument for professionals working with family caregivers to assess the degree of burden felt by family caregivers who provide long-term care for physically frail older adults. The scale also provides indications of the need for professional intervention when burden is great and negatively affects the caregivers' quality of life.