The development of a quality of life scale for informal carers for older adults

<p>Background.</p><p>The aim of the study was to develop a multi-dimensional quality of life instrument suitable for use among individuals across cultures who have an informal care role for older persons.</p><p>Methods.</p><p>Participants were informal carers of older adults in the UK (n=308), USA (n=164), and China(n=131). We carried out exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of 61 items derived from the eight-factor Adult Carers Quality of Life questionnaire with newly added items to define both traditional and non-traditional informal care roles.</p><p>Results.</p><p>Findings suggest a 24-item quality of life scale with a six-factor structure to caring for older adults that assesses (1) exhaustion, (2) adoption of a traditional carer role, (3) personal growth, (4) management and performance, (5) level of support, and (6) financial matters.</p><p>Conclusion.</p><p>We present a new scale to assess the multi-dimensional aspects of quality of life among those caring for older adults.</p>