The Development of a Quality of Life Scale for Informal Carers for Older Adults

Background: The aim of the study was to develop a multidimensional quality of life instrument suitable for use among individuals across cultures who have an informal care role for older persons. Methods: Participants were informal carers of older adults in the United Kingdom ( n = 308), United State...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: John Maltby PhD, Eef Hogervorst PhD, Blossom Stephan PhD, Xu Sun PhD, Pinyan Tang PhD, Effie Law PhD, Elizabeta B. Mukaetova-Ladinska PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-05-01
Series:Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721420920424
Description
Summary:Background: The aim of the study was to develop a multidimensional quality of life instrument suitable for use among individuals across cultures who have an informal care role for older persons. Methods: Participants were informal carers of older adults in the United Kingdom ( n = 308), United States ( n = 164), and China ( n = 131). We carried out exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of 61 items derived from the eight-factor Adult Carers Quality of Life Questionnaire with newly added items to define both traditional and nontraditional informal care roles. Results: Findings suggest a 24-item quality of life scale with a six-factor structure to caring for older adults that assesses (a) exhaustion, (b) adoption of a traditional carer role, (c) personal growth, (d) management and performance, (e) level of support, and (f) financial matters. Conclusion: We present a new scale to assess the multidimensional aspects of quality of life among those caring for older adults.
ISSN:2333-7214