title: Development and preliminary evaluation of the caregiver assistive technology outcome measure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assistive technology is often recommended with the aim of increasing user independence and reducing the burden on informal caregivers. However, until now, there has been no tool to measure the outcomes of this process for caregivers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development of the Caregiver Assistive Technology Outcome Measure (CATOM), a tool developed to measure the impact of assistive technology interventions on the burden experienced by informal caregivers, and to undertake preliminary evaluation of its psychometric properties.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on an existing conceptual framework, existing measures were reviewed to identify potential items in a preliminary version of the measure. Cognitive interviewing was used to identify items needing clarification. A revised CATOM and manual were then reviewed by clinicians. After revising some items based on the interview findings, the measure was piloted as part of an intervention study examining the impact of assistive technology on the users' informal caregivers (n = 44).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on a review of 12 existing measures, a 3-part measure was developed and questions were refined based on cognitive interviews with informal caregivers and feedback experienced assistive technology practitioners. For the activity-specific and overall portions of the measure, the 6-week, test-retest intraclass correlations coefficients were 0.88 (95% CI 0.64-0.96) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.60-0.95), respectively. The CATOM data correlated as hypothesized with other measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CATOM is a promising measure with good content validity and encouraging psychometric properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: W Ben
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Mortenson
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Demers
authors.forename: Marcus J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fuhrer
authors.forename: Jeffrey W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jutai
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lenker
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: DeRuyter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012656:Self-Help Devices / Q000523:psychology*