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The Italian version of the FAMCARE scale: a validation study

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Abstract

Purpose

Evaluation of the quality of care is a key element that healthcare providers now take into consideration to meet patients’ needs, expectations, and values. The FAMCARE scale is one of the most important instruments available to assess the level of satisfaction about care received by patients and families. We describe the validation process used to develop an Italian version (IF) of the original FAMCARE scale for caregivers.

Methods

The IF was prepared according to standard guidelines for translation and transcultural adaptation of self-reported measures. The scale was self-administered to 132 informal caregivers of patients with cancer treated with curative and/or palliative care in a hospice, outpatient, or inpatient setting for at least 1 month. The participant group was composed of spouses (47.73 %), children (31.82 %), siblings (3.03 %), or other relatives (17.42 %). All participants simultaneously completed the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) questionnaire to test the construct validity. Twenty-two percent of randomly chosen participants re-completed the test after 1 month to evaluate IF test-retest stability.

Results

The IF showed a strong reliability with internal consistency [α = 0.93, confidence intervals (CI) = 0.91–0.95] and test-retest stability (Pearson r = 0.38; Kendall’s tau-b = 0,25; Spearman’s rho =0.34). Factor analysis identified four factors capable of explaining the 63 % total variance which did not change after the Varimax normalized rotation. Notwithstanding the lack of correlation with the VAS component of the EQ-5D questionnaire, our results highlighted robust psychometric properties of the IF.

Conclusions

IF is a valid translation of the FAMCARE scale and can be used to assess caregiver satisfaction within the Italian context of cancer palliative care.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the original author of the FAMCARE Scale, Prof. Samar Aoun, for authorizing us to use of the questionnaire, thus making our study possible. We also thank the caregivers who accepted to take part in the pre-test study for their invaluable contribution. Special acknowledgements go to the oncology nurses of IRST IRCCS and of the community-based hospice in a nearby town (Forlimpopoli) for their contribution to participant recruitment. Thanks go to Ursula Elbling for editorial assistance.

Statement of authorship

RC and GO designed the study and performed the translation and adaptation process. AZ, MAB and MM were involved in nurses training, participant recruitment and study coordination in the centers, VC was responsible for data registration and analysis. All authors contributed to the drafting of the manuscript and approved the final version for submission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Alma Mater Studiorum–University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 5, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    Rabih Chattat, Giovanni Ottoboni & Veronica Cossu

  2. Nursing Service, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, Italy

    Anita Zeneli

  3. Psycho-Oncology Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, Italy

    Maria Alejandra Berardi

  4. Palliative Care Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Via Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, Italy

    Marco Maltoni

Authors
  1. Rabih Chattat
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  2. Giovanni Ottoboni
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  3. Anita Zeneli
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  4. Maria Alejandra Berardi
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  5. Veronica Cossu
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  6. Marco Maltoni
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Correspondence to Marco Maltoni.

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There are no conflicts of interest to declare for this manuscript. The authors have full control of primary data and agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.

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Chattat, R., Ottoboni, G., Zeneli, A. et al. The Italian version of the FAMCARE scale: a validation study. Support Care Cancer 24, 3821–3830 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3187-1

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