RESUMEN
The purpose of this research was to develop an objective, linear measure of mothers' confidence to care for children assisted with tracheostomy medical technology in their homes. Caregiver confidence is addressed in this research for three technologies, namely, a) trachesotomy, b) tracheostomy and ventilator, and c) BiPAP/CPAP although detailed measurement results are only reported for tracheostomy, and its co-calibration with tracheostomy and ventilator caregiving items. The sample consisted of 53 mothers responding to several caregiver questionnaires based on a caregiving task matrix after content and clinical validation. A major challenge was integrating this construct with overarching principles already established by Functional Caregiving, a multi-level humanistic caregiving model for children with intellectual disabilities. Empirical analyses included principal components analysis, and then linear transformation of Tracheostomy item ratings to an objective, equal-interval scale with a Rasch model. Results show caregiver separation on the Tracheostomy caregiving scale was 2.66 and reliability, .88. In general, co-calibration improved measurement properties without affecting mothers' caregiving confidence measures. Although sample size was small, measuring mothers' confidence to care for a child supported by complex medical technologies appears very promising.
Asunto(s)
Cuidadores/psicología , Presión de las Vías Aéreas Positiva Contínua/enfermería , Presión de las Vías Aéreas Positiva Contínua/psicología , Atención Domiciliaria de Salud/psicología , Madres/psicología , Autoeficacia , Traqueostomía/enfermería , Traqueostomía/psicología , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Discapacidad Intelectual/enfermería , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Modelos Estadísticos , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Functional Caregiving (FC) is a construct about mothers caring for children (both old and young) with intellectual disabilities, which is operationally defined by two nonequivalent survey forms, urban and suburban, respectively. The purposes of this research are, first, to generalize school-based achievement test principles to survey methods by equating two nonequivalent survey forms. A second purpose is to expand FC foundations by a) establishing linear measurement properties for new caregiving items, b) replicate a hierarchical item structure across an urban, school-based population, c) consolidate survey forms to establish a calibrated item bank, and d) collect more external construct validity data. Results supported invariant item parameters of a fixed item form (96 items) for two urban samples (N = 186). FC measures also showed expected construct relationships with age, mental depression, and health status. However, only five common items between urban and suburban forms were statistically stable because suburban mothers' age and child's age appear to interact with medical information and social activities.
Asunto(s)
Cuidadores/psicología , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , Personas con Discapacidades Mentales , Adulto , Chicago , Recolección de Datos/métodos , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
This research examined empirical evidence for a new construct, Functional Caregiving, which is a theory about mothers' caregiving of their adult children with intellectual disabilities. A sample of 108 biological mothers and primary caregivers rated survey items about their confidence to perform caregiving tasks. Rasch rating scale analysis found 61 items defined an empirical construct with three caregiving levels: Advocacy, Personal Caregiving, and Community. Results show item separation was 3.11 with high reliability, .91, and mother separation was 2.93 and reliability, .90. Both items and mothers showed adequate INFIT and OUTFIT values. Item invariance was confirmed between older and younger mothers, and principle components analysis of item residuals did not reveal any major dimensionality threats. Item decomposition analysis showed FC content theory to account for 58 percent of item calibration variance (R2 = .58, F = 42.3, p < .001). These results have important practical implications for health and social services, as well as family caregiving, interdisciplinary practices, and health policy development.
Asunto(s)
Hijos Adultos , Cuidadores/psicología , Personas con Discapacidades Mentales , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Chicago , Recolección de Datos , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , PsicometríaRESUMEN
This study developed and evaluated an instrument to measure the quality of care given by family members to a patient in the home. The Family Care Measure consisted of 11 items, each of which was rated on a visual analogue scale. Fifteen registered nurses rated the care given by families of 72 eligible patients for whom the nurses had provided nursing care. Estimation of the reliability resulted in a high internal consistency. With deletion of five items from the measure, the internal consistency reliability resulted in a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .93. The six-item instrument correlated moderately, as predicted, with a scale of family coping (r = .76). With acceptable reliability and evidence of construct validity, this measure may be used in research studies, but further testing to assess its usefulness in clinical situations is recommended.