Reliability and validity of Family Caregiver Quality of Life Scale in heart failure

Abstract

Background: In this study, the Family Caregiver Quality of Life scale developed specifically for family caregivers of heart failure patients was translated into the Turkish language, and its reliability and validity was performed.Methods: The scale was first translated into Turkish and back-translated, adapting it to the Turkish culture. The Turkish questionnaire of the scale was applied to 200 family caregivers. To evaluate the reliability of the scale and all subscales, test-retest was applied, and the Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients were calculated. The structural validity of the scale was examined through the factor analysis.Results: The internal consistency reliability (a=0.82) of the Turkish Questionnaire of the scale was proved. Two-week test-retest reliability was supported by an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.91. The questionnaire’s factor structure demonstrated acceptable fit, indicating that it could be applied to the Turkish population. The item loads found by the factor analysis ranged from 0.32 to 0.99, explaining %63 of the variance (eigenvalue=2.61-4.06). Criterion-related validity was supported by correlations with the Short Form-36 General (r=0.473, p<0.01) and Mental (r=0.406; p<0.01) Health subscales.Conclusion: The Turkish version of this scale can measure the quality of life of family caregivers of heart failure patients with adequate reliability and validity.