Resumen

CARRENO-MORA, Fidias; ORTIZ-CORREDOR, Fernando; ESPINOSA-GARCIA, Eugenia  y  PEREZ-HERNANDEZ, Claudia E. Validation of an instrument to assess caregiver burden in cerebral palsy cases. Rev. salud pública [online]. 2015, vol.17, n.4, pp.578-588. ISSN 0124-0064.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rsap.v17n4.35593.

Objective To develop and validate a scale for assessing the difficulties of daily care of children with severe cerebral palsy (CP) at functional levels IV and V on the GMFCS (Gross Motor Function Classification System). Materials and Methods A validation study was performed by means of a questionnaire to 108 caregivers of children with CP. The first phase of the study aimed to develop the questionnaire and conduct a pilot experiment. The second phase covered the application of the scale. Finally, the third phase consisted of a psychometric analysis (construct and criterion-related validity, internal consistency) and the determination of the scale's utility. For the retest, the questionnaire was applied to 62 patients. Results A scale was developed with 10 items from two domains. The internal consistency was very good with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.87. For the criterion-related validity, a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.71 was obtained when the scale was compared to the GMFCS´s functional levels. For the reliability retest, a Pearson's correlation coefficient higher than 0.87 for each of the items was found. Conclusions The "Caregiver Scale" is a valid and reliable instrument. Its usefulness for measuring the difficulties in the care of children with severe CP is acceptable.

Palabras clave : Cerebral palsy; validation studies; caregivers.

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