Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the revised caregiving appraisal scale in Iranian family caregivers of older adults with dementia

Abstract EN

Background: Caregivers’ self-assessments of the care they provide are the main vehicles that help explore their experiences and are thought to have a major role in care outcomes.

The rising number of people with dementia and their need for care provided within the family makes family caregiving a major topic for study and evaluation.

Objectives: The present study was conducted to assess the psychometric characteristics of the Persian version of the revised caregiving appraisal scale (RCAS) in family caregivers of older adults with dementia.

Methods: In this cross-sectional methodological study, 236 family caregivers were recruited through convenience sampling.

The revised caregiving appraisal scale (RCAS)wastranslated using the international quality of life assessment (IQOLA) protocol, andthen a panel of experts examined its face and content validities.

To ensure construct validity, the translated revised caregiving appraisal scale (RCAS) was completed by 236 family caregivers, and the factor construct of the scale was assessed using five initial factors for confirmatory factor analysis.

Internal consistency was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha, and test-retest using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

The confirmatory factor analysis was performed with LISREL-8.8 software for Windows®.

Results: The mean age of the participating caregivers was 53.5 13.13 years.

The content and face validities of the scale were confirmed using the feedback of the family caregivers and panel of experts.

The confirmatory factor analysis results reported appropriate values for all the fit indices (RMSEA = 0.046, df / 2 = 2.428, CFI = 0.98, AGFI = 0.84, and GFI = 0.9), and the 5-factor model was confirmed with 27 items.

The scale-level Cronbach’s alpha was reported as 0.894 and the scale-level ICC as 0.94.

The scale met the minimum reliability standards (Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.7).

Conclusions: This study has provided some preliminary evidence of the reliability and validity of the Persian version of RCAS when used with family caregivers of older adults with dementia