title: Measuring the impact of caregiving on informal carers: a construct validation study of the CarerQol instrument.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Informal caregivers provide a significant part of the total care needed by ill or disabled persons. Although informal care is often the preferred option of those who provide and those who receive informal care, caring can nevertheless be very straining. This study investigates construct validation of an instrument of the impact of caregiving, the CarerQol.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected among adult caregivers (n = 1,244) selected from the general population using an online questionnaire in October 2010, in the Netherlands. The CarerQol measures and values the impact of informal care. The CarerQol measures subjective burden (CarerQol-7D) and well-being (CarerQol-VAS). Construct validation comprised clinical, convergent and discriminative validity tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical validity was supported by statistically significant associations of CarerQol-VAS and caregivers' health, income and employment status, care recipients' health, and the relationship between caregiver and care recipient. Convergent validity was supported by positive associations of CarerQol-VAS with the two positive CarerQol-7D dimensions (fulfillment and support) and negative associations with the five negative CarerQol-7D dimensions (relational problems, mental health problems, problems combining daily activities, financial problems and physical health problems). Moreover, CarerQol-VAS was negatively associated with other instruments measuring caregiving burden.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Construct validity tests in a large, heterogeneous sample of caregivers show that the CarerQol validly measures the impact of caregiving. The CarerQol can be used in informal care research and economic evaluations of health care interventions. Hence, its use can facilitate informed decision making in health care.
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Rotterdam, Institute of Health Policy and Management, P,O, Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. hoefman@bmg.eur.nl.
authors.forename: Renske J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hoefman
authors.forename: Job
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Exel
authors.forename: Werner B F
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Brouwer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*