Abstract
A scale to measure the collusion of the diagnosis among caregivers of terminally ill patients was developed and its psychometric properties were determined. The results showed the measures effectiveness. The measure can be modified for assessing collusion in other settings.
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Appendix: Caregiver Collusion Questionnaire
Appendix: Caregiver Collusion Questionnaire
Instructions
“A set of questions related to your feelings and attitudes as a caregiver are given. Read and answer them with a yes/no. There is no right or wrong answers.”
Are you anxious about your patient due to his/her previous negative reaction to a stressful situation?
Is your patient anxiety prone by nature?
Are you anxious about your patient’s ability to accept his/her condition?
Do you think the patient’s diagnosis must be shared with the patient?
Do you avoid answering the patient, when the patient asks questions about his/her condition?
Are you afraid of revealing the truth to the patient, when you try to handle the patient’s complaints?
Have you of late been sleeping well?
Are you apprehensive about your patient’s loss of hope to live, on knowing his/her diagnosis?
Have you of late not been inquisitive about what your patient communicates with others?
Are you feeling guilty for not disclosing the diagnosis to your patient?
Do you think the patient’s health will remain stable by keeping the diagnosis a secret?
Have you and your doctor agreed to keep the diagnosis a secret, from the patient?
Do you think your patient can handle a stressful situation?
Do you try to stop the patient from discussing the condition with others?
Do you now communicate less than before the patient’s condition was known?
Has your health been effected by keeping the patient’s condition a secret?
Do you think your patient will feel disappointed if he/she comes to know the diagnosis from others?
Do you think keeping the diagnosis a secret will not create a conflict in the family?
Do you think your patient should be allowed to express his/her views regarding how his/her life should come to an end?
Do you and the doctor discuss the patient’s diagnosis in his/her presence, during consultation?
Scoring
Reverse scoring was done for items 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 19 and 20 and the rest were directly scored. The maximum and minimum possible scores are 20 (high collusion) and zero (no collusion) respectively.
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James, N. Test Construction of Caregiver Collusion Questionnaire. Psychol Stud 59, 436–438 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-014-0273-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-014-0273-7