Caregiver Assessment: Information Categories, Areas to Assess and Possible Questions
Areas to Assess
|♦ Caregiver relationship to care recipient
- Physical environment (home, facility)
- Household status (number in
- Financial status
- Quality of family relationships
- Duration of caregiving
- Employment status (work/home/ volunteer)
♦ What is the caregiver’s relationship to the care recipient?
Status of Care
|♦ Activities of daily living (ADLs;
bathing, dressing) and need for
- Instrumental Activities of
Daily Living (IADLs; managing
fi nances, using the telephone)
- Psycho-social needs
- Cognitive impairment
- Behavioral problems
- Medical tests and procedures
♦ Can the care recipient carry out ADLs without assistance (bathing, dressing, etc.)?
- Can the care recipient carry out IADLs without assistance (managing fi nances, shopping)?
- Can the care recipient administer his/her medications correctly?
- Does the care recipient have any mental health diagnoses or emotional problems?
- Does the care recipient have any memory loss or cognitive impairment?
- Does the care recipient have any behavioral problems? How frequently do they occur and
how much do they bother or upset the caregiver when they happen?
- What medical tests and procedures have been done or are needed?
♦ Caregiver/care recipient
willingness to assume/
- Perceived fi lial obligation to
- Culturally based norms
- Preferences for scheduling and
delivery of care and services
♦ Is the caregiver willing to
assume the caregiver role? Is
the care recipient willing to
- Does the caregiver feel he/she
is obligated to provide care?
- What types of care
arrangements are considered
culturally acceptable for this
- What are the caregiver’s (and
the care recipient’s) preferences
for the scheduling and delivery
of care and services?
♦ Self-rated health
- Health conditions and symptoms
- Depression or other emotional
distress (e.g., anxiety)
- Life satisfaction/quality of life
♦ How does the caregiver rate
his/her own health? Does the
caregiver rate his/her health
better, about the same, or worse
than it was 6 months ago?
- Does the caregiver have any
health conditions or symptoms?
- How often in the past 6 months
has the caregiver had a medical
exam or received treatment for
physical health problems from
a health care practitioner?
- Depression Scale (See Selected
Measures in Appendix III)
- How often does the caregiver
feel anxious or angry when he/
she is around the care recipient?
- How often does the caregiver
get a full night’s sleep?
- How does the caregiver rate
his/her life satisfaction and/or
quality of life?
♦ Perceived challenges
• Social isolation
• Work strain
• Emotional and physical
• Financial strain
• Family relationship strain
• Diffi culties with formal
♦ Perceived benefi ts
• Satisfaction of helping
• Developing new skills and
• Improved family
- Does the caregiver have a social
support network or is he/she
- Does the caregiver suffer any
work-related diffi culties due to
the caregiving role?
- Does the caregiver suffer from
any emotional and/or physical
health problems as a result of
- How much does the caregiver’s
health stand in the way of
doing things he/she wants
- What has been the fi nancial
strain, if any, on the caregiver
due to his/her caregiving role?
- How much disagreement has the
caregiver experienced with other
family members over particular
Perceived benefi ts
- Does the caregiver feel
satisfaction in helping a
- Does the caregiver feel he/
she has developed new skills
and knowledge as a result of
- Has there been an improvement
in family relationships (general
similarity of views, degree of
getting along) as a result of the
Caregiver Skills/ Abilities/Knowledge to Provide Care
- Caregiving confidence and competencies
- Appropriate knowledge of medical care tasks (wound care, etc.)
- How knowledgeable does the caregiver feel about the care recipient’s condition?
- What are the skills and abilities needed to provide care for the care recipient?
- How would the caregiver rate his/her confidence and competence in these areas?
- Does the caregiver have the appropriate knowledge of medical care tasks (wound care, ability to administer medications correctly, etc.) and transfer techniques (moving from bed to chair, etc.)
- Helping network and perceived social support
- Existing or potential strengths (e.g., what is presently going well)
- Coping strategies
- Financial resources (health care and service benefits, entitlements such as Veteran’s Affairs, Medicare)
- Community resources and services (caregiver support programs, religious organizations, volunteer agencies)
- Can the caregiver rely on his/her social support network for help (i.e. respite)?
- What are the caregiver’s coping strategies? Are these healthy/constructive?
- Has the caregiver accessed all financial benefits and entitlements he/she or care recipient is eligible for (e.g., Veteran’s Affairs)?
- What other community resources/services is the caregiver utilizing or aware of (e.g., caregiver support groups, religious organizations)?