Transcultural adaptation of the revised caregiving appraisal scale (RCAS) in the Spanish population.
Monica Cueli Arce, Miguel Santibañez, Carmen Sarabia and 3 others
PMID 36251518WHAT IT FOUND
The Spanish RCAS-VE gave separate scores for family caregiver burden, lack of competence, and satisfaction.
Burden and competence matched an existing burden scale, but satisfaction was less well validated. It was not tested to track change.
Key findings
01The Spanish RCAS-VE identified three subscales: subjective burden, satisfaction, and competence, where competence means perceived lack of competence.
02The burden subscale scored consistently across items (Cronbach's alpha .86); satisfaction and competence were acceptable (.74 and .76).
03Burden and competence showed strong correlations with the Zarit Burden Interview, but no correlation was obtained with the family satisfaction comparator.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 184 of 432 randomly selected caregivers agreed to participate, and the paper also reports 182 interviewed, so the analysed sample is unclear. The study was cross-sectional and did not follow caregivers over time, so it cannot show whether scores change after an intervention. The satisfaction subscale did not reach the expected correlation with the family satisfaction comparator, and that comparator was not widely used or designed for caregivers. The factor structure differed from the original RCAS, with burden, demand and environment merging into one subjective burden subscale. Participants were family caregivers in one Spanish region, mostly women, children or spouses, living with the older person and caring for over two years, so results may not apply to other caregiver groups.
Declared interests
The study received a research award from a nursing college, and the authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the RCAS-VE as proof that a caregiver intervention changed burden or satisfaction. The study did not test sensitivity to change.