Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T12:51:23.913Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Factor analysis and internal consistency evaluation of the FAMCARE Scale for use in the long-term care setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2010

Keri L. Rodriguez ,
Nichole K. Bayliss ,
Emily Jaffe ,
Susan Zickmund  and
Mary Ann Sevick
Keri L. Rodriguez*
Affiliation:
Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nichole K. Bayliss
Affiliation:
Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Sociology Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Emily Jaffe
Affiliation:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Susan Zickmund
Affiliation:
Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mary Ann Sevick
Affiliation:
Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsbsburg, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Keri L. Rodriguez, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, 7180 Highland Drive, Bldg. 2, Room. 4083E (151C-H), Pittsburgh, PA 15206. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

The FAMCARE Scale was originally designed to measure family satisfaction with advanced cancer care. The current study evaluated the instrument's psychometric qualities when used in the long-term care (LTC) setting.

Method:

In a prospective cohort study in 2004, the 20-item instrument was administered via telephone to family members of 51 patients receiving LTC in Veterans Affairs facilities. Satisfaction scores on a 5-point Likert scale were used for factor analysis and internal consistency evaluation.

Results:

Although 16 patients were in geriatric palliative care and 35 were in nursing home care, scores of their family members did not vary based on care unit. The total satisfaction score was high, with a mean (SD) of 44.7 (11.9) and a Cronbach alpha of 0.94. Inter-item correlations were low for care availability items (range, 0.01–0.59). Two items—availability of a hospital bed and availability of nurses to the family—had low eigenvalues (0.26 and 0.18, respectively) and weak correlations with the total score (0.23 and 0.16, respectively).

Significance of results:

In the LTC setting, FAMCARE appears to have good internal consistency, but it may be preferable to exclude the two items with weak correlations and to use a 10-point visual analog scale.

Keywords

Long-term careNursing homesConsumer satisfactionFamilyPsychometrics
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 169 - 176
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

American Health Care Association. (2007). Nursing home resident, family satisfaction surveys integral to ongoing quality improvements. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-09-2007/0004584462&EDATE.Google Scholar
Bond, S. & Thomas, L.H. (1992). Measuring patients' satisfaction with nursing care. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 52–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boockvar, K.S. & Meier, D.E. (2006). Palliative care for frail older adults: “there are things I can't do anymore that I wish I could …” The Journal of the American Medical Association, 296, 2245–2253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brock, D.W. (1996). What is the moral authority of family members to act as surrogates for incompetent patients? Milbank Quarterly, 74, 599–618.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castle, N.G. & Engberg, J. (2004). Response formats and satisfaction surveys for elders. Gerontologist, 44, 358–367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cherlin, E., Fried, T., Prigerson, H.G., et al. (2005). Communication between physicians and family caregivers about care at the end of life: When do discussions occur and what is said? Journal of Palliative Medicine, 8, 1176–1185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cleary, P.D. & McNeil, B.J. (1988). Patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality care. Inquiry, 25, 25–36.Google ScholarPubMed
Cooley, S.G. & Salerno, J.A. (2002). Encyclopedia of Aging. Veterans Care. http://www.agis.com/Document/357/veterans-care.aspx.Google Scholar
Dy, S.M., Shugarman, L.R., Lorenz, K.A., et al. (2008). A systematic review of satisfaction with care at the end of life. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56, 124–129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evers, M.M., Meier, D.E. & Morrison, R.S. (2002). Assessing differences in care needs and service utilization in geriatric palliative care patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 23, 424–432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldstein, N.E. & Morrison, R.S. (2005). Intersection between geriatrics and palliative care: A call for a new research agenda. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 53, 1593–1598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grau, L., Chandler, B. & Saunders, C. (1995). Nursing home residents' perceptions of the quality of their care. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, 33, 34–41.Google ScholarPubMed
Health Services Research and Development Service. (2000). LTC Needs Increase as Veteran Population Ages. http://www1.va.gov/hsrd/publications/internal/brief_17_v3.pdf.Google Scholar
Kapo, J., Morrison, L.J. & Liao, S. (2007). Palliative care for the older adult. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 10, 185–209.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kristjanson, L.J. (1986). Indicators of quality of palliative care from a family perspective. Journal of Palliative Care, 1, 8–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kristjanson, L.J. (1993). Validity and reliability testing of the FAMCARE Scale: Measuring family satisfaction with advanced cancer care. Social Science & Medicine, 36, 693–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kristjanson, L.J., Leis, A., Koop, P.M., et al. (1996). Family members' care expectations, care perceptions, and satisfaction with advanced cancer care: Results of a multi-site pilot study. Journal of Palliative Care, 13, 5–13.Google Scholar
Kutner, J.S. (2008). Assuring quality end-of-life care: Imperative to expand the evidence base in concert with growth of the field. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56, 160–162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McVeigh, S.E., Jablonski, R.A. & Penrod, J. (2009). Strategies for improving family satisfaction with long-term care facilities: Direct care and family-staff interactions. Annals of Long-Term Care, 17, 25–28.Google Scholar
Oliver, D.P., Porock, D. & Zweig, S. (2005). End-of-life care in U.S. nursing homes: A review of the evidence. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 6, S21–S30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ringdal, G.I., Jordhoy, M.S. & Kaasa, S. (2003). Measuring quality of palliative care: psychometric properties of the FAMCARE scale. Quality of Life Research, 12, 167–176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simmons, S.F. & Schnelle, J.F. (1999). Strategies to measure nursing home residents' satisfaction and preference related to incontinence and mobility care: Implications for evaluating intervention effects. The Gerontologist, 39, 345–355.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steele, L.L., Mills, B., Long, M.R., et al. (2003). Patient and caregiver satisfaction with end-of-life care: Does high satisfaction mean high quality of care? The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care, 20, 360–370.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. (2009). VA Nursing Home Care. http://www1.va.gov/GeriatricsSHG/page.cfm?pg=52.Google Scholar