title: Self-perceived burden in cancer patients: validation of the Self-perceived Burden Scale.
abstract: Although caregiver burden has been studied extensively, cancer patients' self-perceived burden on caregivers has been an understudied phenomenon. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to validate the Self-perceived Burden Scale, a 10-item self-report instrument designed to measure chronically ill patients' experience of burden. Participants were 106 cancer patients (site nonspecific) receiving active cancer treatments at a university cancer center. Factor analysis results indicated that a 9-item version of the scale consisted of a single factor and had good reliability (alpha = .938). Convergent validity was demonstrated with global quality of life (r = -0.546, P < .001), physical well-being (r = -0.547, P < .001), emotional well-being (r = -0.549, P < .001), functional well-being (r = -0.404, P < .001), financial satisfaction (r = -0.284, P = .001), and depression (r = 0.414, P <.001). Tests of divergent validity indicated that the Self-perceived Burden Scale was independent of age, number of people living in the household, disease site, cancer treatment, and sociofamilial well-being. Findings indicate that the Self-perceived Burden Scale may be a useful instrument to assess patients' perceptions of burden on their caregivers. Further studies of the role of patient burden in psychosocial well-being and global quality of life, including validation of the Self-perceived Burden Scale on a larger study sample, are warranted.
authors: Department of Family Studies, University of Kentucky, 320 Funkhouser Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0054, USA. leighann@uky.edu
authors: Leigh Ann
authors: LA
authors: Simmons
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires