The Carer Burden Scale is a reflective tool designed to assess the impact of caregiving responsibilities on the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of carers. If your occupational therapist has suggested completing this scale, it's an opportunity to take stock of the load you're carrying.
The Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) was developed to measure the impact of caregiving on family members of patients, in particular those with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia 56. The scale is developed by considering the burden as the result of multiple aspects of the caregiver's life.
It is a self-administered instrument composed of 22 items scored on a Likert-type scale with 5 response options: never (0 points), rarely (1 point), sometimes (2 points), quite often (3 points), and almost always (4 points). Higher scores indicate greater caregiver burden.
Scoring is 2 points for each 'yes', and 1 point for each 'sometimes' response. The higher the score, the higher the level of caregiver strain. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: Internal reliability coefficient is slightly higher (=. 90) than the coefficient originally reported for the CSI in 1983 (=.
The measure contains five dimensions: personal and social restrictions, physical and emotional health, economic costs, value investment in caregiving, and the perception of the care recipient as provocateur. Items are scored on a 4-point scale (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree).
The score is determined by adding up the “Yes” answers. A score of 7 or greater indicates a high level of stress. If score is 7 or greater – discuss, develop and prioritise support strategies with Carer.
Adequate support helps ensure caregivers continue to provide high-quality care to their loved ones while maintaining their own mental and physical health. This support can take many forms, including emotional support, education and training, and access to resources.
Gerontologic health scientific literature identifies a number of scales to measure caregiver burden. The Zarit Scale of Caregiver Burden or the Zarit Burden Interview is the most widely used instrument. Originally designed and tested in 1980 containing 29 items, it was reduced to 22 questions.
BEST TOOL: The Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) is an easy-to-use tool that can quickly screen for caregiver strain in long-term caregivers. The tool has 13 questions that measure strain related to care provision.