Family carers play a crucial role in supporting individuals at the end of life, yet practical tools to effectively assess their support needs have been lacking. The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) was developed as a brief, evidence-based solution for everyday use to address this critical gap in palliative care.
This innovative Carer Support Assessment Tool was rigorously evaluated for its face, content, and criterion validity, as well as its sensitivity to changes over time. A study involving 225 adult carers of patients from six UK Hospice Home Care services utilized self-completed questionnaires at baseline and four-week follow-up. These questionnaires incorporated the CSNAT alongside standard measures of distress, strain, positive appraisals, preparedness, global health, and data on help provided with daily living activities and patient symptom levels. Qualitative feedback further enriched the validation process through pilot carer interviews and input from professional and carer advisory groups.
The findings clearly demonstrate the CSNAT’s strong validity. Its domains comprehensively address the spectrum of carer support needs. Notably, higher CSNAT scores consistently correlated with increased carer strain and distress, and lower scores aligned with greater preparedness for caregiving and improved global health. Significant correlations were also observed with the level of assistance needed for daily living activities and, to a lesser extent, with positive appraisals and patient symptom burden. The CSNAT’s ability to detect changes in relevant areas was comparable to other established measures.
In conclusion, the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) stands out as a valid and feasible instrument for directly measuring and understanding the support needs of carers in palliative care settings. Its comprehensive content and ease of administration make it a valuable asset for both research and routine palliative care practice, ultimately contributing to enhanced support for family carers during end-of-life care.
