Development and psychometric assessment of a care competency scale for family caregivers in home palliative care.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop and validate a scale for measuring the care competency of family caregivers in home palliative care (CCSHPC).

METHODS

The initial version was established based on the model for caregiver skill building/effectiveness, literature review, qualitative research, expert consultations, and quantitative research. The measurement properties included content validity, structural validity, internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, and construct validity. The survey included 381 family caregivers who had previously or were currently receiving home palliative care services in Shanghai.

RESULTS

The final scale comprised 29 items across 6 dimensions: care knowledge, daily care skills, special care skills, caregiving qualities, self-care practices, and the acquisition of social supports and resources. The cumulative variance contribution rate was 75.406%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit (χ 2 ​= ​767.146, df ​= ​357, χ 2 /df ​= ​2.149, root mean square of approximation error ​= ​0.074, root mean square residual ​= ​0.063, incremental fitting index ​= ​0.904, comparative fit index ​= ​0.903). The content validity at the scale and item levels were 0.97 and 0.86 to 1.00, respectively. The reliability of the scale was acceptable (Cronbach's α ​= ​0.954, McDonald's Omega ​= ​0.959, split-half reliability ​= ​0.886, test-retest reliability ​= ​0.931). The standard error of measurement was 4.38.

CONCLUSIONS

The scale is reliable and valid, and it can be applied to measure the care competency of family caregivers in home palliative care, providing a reference for medical professionals to develop targeted intervention strategies. However, the applicability of the scale among family caregivers in different cultural and social contexts, as well as the validation of other measurement properties of the scale, requires further research.