BioPsychoSocial Assessment Tools for the Elderly - Assessment Summary Sheet

Test: The Caregivers’ Aspirations, Realities and Expectations (CARE) Tool

Year: 2001

Domain: Psychological/Social

Assessment Tool Category: Caregiving

Variations/Translations: The CARE Tool Short Version created in 2006. French translation available.

Setting: Home Care Agencies

Method of Delivery: Questionnaire administered by health care practitioners to family caregiver

Description: The CARE Tool was created to provide a method for practitioners to systematically evaluate the unmet needs of the caregivers and shape interventions. The tool consists of ten sections that cover different aspects of a caregivers’ situation plus a summary section. The ten sections gather: demographic information of the caregiver and care receiver, caregiving work, informal and formal support, living arrangements, other responsibilities, financial contribution, physical and emotional health, family relations, crisis and long term planning, and service support needs. The final section summarizes the caregiving situation, allows for the identification of 15 areas of difficulty experienced by the caregiver on a scale of 1 (little or no difficulty) to 4 (extreme difficulty) and key areas of concern to be addressed in the future. The summary section is filled out by the assessor alone following the interview.

Scoring/Interpretation: The practitioner takes the information provided by the caregiver as well as their own perspectives and identifies the key areas of difficulty. The practitioner then considers and records the types of services that would be most beneficial. Often rationale is provided as to why certain services were recommended.

Time to Administer: N/A

Availability: Contact authors

Software: N/A

Website: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/caregivingjourney/pdf/short_care_tool.pdf

Quantitative/Qualitative: Quantitative/ Qualitative

Validity (Quantitative): N/A

Reliability (Quantitative): N/A

References:

Keefe, J., Guberman, N., Fancey, P., Barylak, L., & Nahmiash, D. (2008). Caregivers’ Aspirations, Realities, and Expectations: The C.A.R.E. Tool. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 27(3), 286.

Comments:.N/A