Indiscriminate use of the Zarit instrument in caregivers of chronic non-geriatric or dementia patients
Abstract
Dear editor,
The article published in the journal of the Faculty of Health Sciences by Ángel-García et al., focuses on the burden of informal caregivers of patients with chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and respiratory, renal and neurological diseases. Likewise, the study takes as a sample caregivers who are between 18 and 96 years old. Due to the importance of the article for the health area, and when reviewing its methodology and results, it will be considered to limit some points (1).
The results of the study are important, since they determine that greater competence and preparation of the caregiver will generate less stress overload in their work. However, the study lacks internal validity when using the Zarit instrument, which is not validated to measure overload in caregivers of non-geriatric patients, nor for the various chronic diseases presented by the care subjects in the study sample (1).
References
Del Ángel-García JE, León-Hernández RC, Méndez- Santos G, Peñarrieta-De Córdova I, Flores-Barrios F. Relación entre sobrecarga y competencias del cuidar en cuidadores informales de personas con enfermedades crónicas. MedUNAB. 2020;23(2):233- 41. doi: https://doi.org/10.29375/01237047.3878
Martos A, Cardila F, Barragán AB, Pérez-Fuentes MC, Molero MM y Gázquez JJ. Instrumento para evaluar la sobrecarga del cuidador familiar de personas con demencia. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2015;5(2):281-92. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe5020026
Crespo María, Rivas Ma Teresa. La evaluación de la carga del cuidador: una revisión más allá de la escala de Zarit. Clínica y Salud. 2015 Mar; 26(1): 9-15. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clysa.2014.07.002.
Delgado-González E, González-Esteban MP, Ballesteros-Álvaro AM, Pérez-Alonso J, Mediavilla- ME, Aragón-Posadas R, et al. Existen instrumentos válidos para medir el síndrome del cuidador familiar, una revista sistémica de la literatura. España: Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Sanidad;2009. Disponible en: http://envejecimiento.csic.es/documentos/documentos/delgado-instrumentos-01.pdf
Alpuche VJ, Ramos Del Rio B, Rojas Russell ME, Figueroa López CG. Validez de la escala de carga de Zarit en una muestra de cuidadores primarios informales. México: Psicología y Salud; 2008. Disponible en: https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/291/29118209.pdf
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