Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

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

Rodriguez KL, Bayliss NK, Jaffe E, Zickmund S, Sevick MA. Factor analysis and internal consistency evaluation of the FAMCARE scale for use in the long-term care setting. Palliative & supportive care. 2010 Jun 1; 8(2):169-76.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


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.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.