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Caregiver satisfaction with out-patient oncology services: utility of the FAMCARE instrument and development of the FAMCARE-6

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate caregivers’ experience of oncology services for ambulatory patients and to develop a short instrument (FAMCARE-6) suitable for computerised administration in the clinical setting.

Methods

A sample of 234 caregivers recruited from 388 ambulatory oncology patients completed a computerised version of the 20-item family satisfaction with advanced cancer care (FAMCARE) instrument, which was originally developed for use in palliative care settings.

Results

Caregivers reported generally high satisfaction with all aspects of ambulatory oncology services: overall score; mean, 3.96 (SD, 0.67); information giving, 3.88 (0.78); physical patient care, 4.00 (0.71); availability of care, 3.89 (0.77); and psychosocial care, 4.05 (0.72), from a possible score of 5. Factor analyses identified a single factor structure; the items were reduced to six (FAMCARE-6), which yielded a scale with adequate psychometric properties (completion rates over 90% for every item, correlation of 0.7 or above with the factor identified in the individual item factor analysis, and internal reliability of α = 0.85). The overall mean score was 3.91 (SD, 0.73) for the FAMCARE-6.

Conclusions

FAMCARE-6 can be used to assess caregiver satisfaction with ambulatory oncology services and may be suitable to be included as part of a computerised screening system for the psychological care of oncology patients.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research (CBMHR), University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

    Gregory Leigh Carter, Terry J. Lewin, Louisa Gianacas, Kerrie Clover & Catherine Adams

  2. Hunter New England Mental Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

    Terry J. Lewin

  3. Psycho-Oncology Service, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

    Gregory Leigh Carter, Louisa Gianacas, Kerrie Clover & Catherine Adams

  4. Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Locked Bag #7 Hunter Region Mail Centre NSW, Newcastle, 2310, Australia

    Gregory Leigh Carter

Authors
  1. Gregory Leigh Carter
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  2. Terry J. Lewin
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  3. Louisa Gianacas
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  4. Kerrie Clover
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  5. Catherine Adams
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gregory Leigh Carter.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

FAMCARE-6

Instructions

Think about the care that your family member has received.

Please answer the following questions below indicating how satisfied you are with the care received: very satisfied (VS), satisfied (S), undecided (U), dissatisfied (D) or very dissatisfied (VD).

Please circle the letters below that best match your experience.

How satisfied are you with

1. Answers from health professionals

VS

S

U

D

VD

2. Information given about side effects

VS

S

U

D

VD

3. Speed with which symptoms are treated

VS

S

U

D

VD

4. Availability of doctors to the family

VS

S

U

D

VD

5. Time required to make a diagnosis

VS

S

U

D

VD

6. Availability of the doctor to the patient

VS

S

U

D

VD

Scale modified from the original FAMCARE Scale (Kristjanson, 1993) [12].

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Carter, G.L., Lewin, T.J., Gianacas, L. et al. Caregiver satisfaction with out-patient oncology services: utility of the FAMCARE instrument and development of the FAMCARE-6. Support Care Cancer 19, 565–572 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-010-0858-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-010-0858-1

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