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Validation of the revised Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale in Greek caregivers of patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative radiotherapy

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Abstract

Purpose

Caregiver burden considerably affects the lives of families providing care to people with advanced cancer. The aim of this study was to validate the Greek translation of the revised Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale (BCOS) with a sample of informal caregivers of people with advanced cancer receiving outpatient palliative radiotherapy.

Methods

Following a formal “forward–backward” method to translate the original BCOS into Greek, the scale was administered to 100 consecutive family caregivers. Participants also completed the Greek Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (G-HADS) and five quality-of-life related linear analogue scale assessment (LASA) scales. Validity and reliability analyses were performed.

Results

The Cronbach’s α coefficient for the total BCOS score was 0.83. Test–retest reliability analysis in a subgroup of caregivers (n = 40) revealed good short-term stability over a 2-week interval. Exploratory factor analysis generated a one-factor structure for the Greek translation, which was further confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. Construct validity was supported through the scale’s high correlations with G-HADS anxiety (−0.524; p < 0.001) and depression (−0.533; p < 0.001) scores, and LASA quality of life scores (0.696; p < 0.001). The BCOS discriminated well between groups of caregivers with different levels of quality of life. A total score of 52.5 offered high sensitivity (91 %) and specificity (86 %) in detecting highly burdened caregivers.

Conclusions

The Greek version of the BCOS is a psychometrically sound instrument that can be usefully implemented into clinical practice to identify family caregivers in need for support, and stimulate relevant research in our country.

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Acknowledgments/disclosures

Mr. Kotronoulas has received a 3-year PhD scholarship from the “Alexander S. Onassis” Public Benefit Foundation, and an educational grant from the Hellenic Society of Medical Oncology (HeSMO), both in Athens, Greece. These sponsors had no involvement at any stage of this work or during the preparation of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no personal or financial conflicts of interest with regard to this work. The authors declare that they have full control of all primary data, and that they agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Nursing, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Agiou Spiridonos 28, 122 10, Athens, Greece

    Ourania Govina

  2. School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, 11 Airlie Place, Dundee, DD1 4HJ, UK

    Grigorios Kotronoulas

  3. Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Korinthias 27, 115 26, Athens, Greece

    Kyriaki Mystakidou

  4. Faculty of Nursing, University of Athens, Papadiamantopoulou 123, 115 27, Athens, Greece

    Margarita Giannakopoulou & Elisabeth Patiraki

  5. Laboratory for the Research of Musculoskeletal System, “Th. Garofalidis” Orthopaedic Department, Medical School, University of Athens, “KAT” General Hospital, 145 61, Athens, Greece

    Antonios Galanos

  6. Faculty of Nursing, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Aristeidou 5, 153 51, Athens, Greece

    Ourania Govina

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  1. Ourania Govina
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  2. Grigorios Kotronoulas
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  3. Kyriaki Mystakidou
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  4. Margarita Giannakopoulou
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  5. Antonios Galanos
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  6. Elisabeth Patiraki
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Correspondence to Ourania Govina.

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Govina, O., Kotronoulas, G., Mystakidou, K. et al. Validation of the revised Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale in Greek caregivers of patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative radiotherapy. Support Care Cancer 21, 1395–1404 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-012-1681-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-012-1681-7

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