Caring for Carers: Caregiver Assessment Tools Cuidar de Quem Cuida: Ferramentas de Avaliação dos Cuidadores

Abstract

As the world population is getting older, the average life expectancy increases, leading to greater morbidity in the elderly and, consequently, a greater dependence in their day-to-day lives.
Following these demographic changes comes structural family changes, including a need to provide a personal caregiver to these dependent individuals.
There are many repercussions associated with this process, affecting several areas of the caregiver’s life.
There are several tools available for caregiver burden assessment: Carer Assessment of Difficulties Index, Carer Assessment of Satisfaction Index, Carer Assessment of Managing Index, Carers’ Assessment of Managing Index, Social Support Satisfaction Rating Scale and Burden Interview Scale from Zarit. These instruments aim to assess the different areas of the caregiver’s life, such as physical, mental, social and even financial health. They should be used systematically to identify overload situations in early stages.