The Impact of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) in Community Palliative Care Using a Stepped Wedge Cluster Trial

Family carers play a central role in community-based palliative care. However, caring for a terminally ill person puts the carer at increased risk of physical and mental morbidity. The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) enables comprehensive assessment of carer support needs. The present study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the CSNAT in a community specialist palliative care service. Semi-structured interviews with 12 palliative care nurse specialists from two community nursing teams in Lothian, Scotland, June 2017. Data was audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed. Palliative care nurse specialists acknowledge the importance of carers in palliative care and encourage carer support practices. Nurses perceived the CSNAT as useful, but used it as an ‘add-on’ to current practice, rather than as a new approach to carer-led assessment. Further training is recommended to ensure community palliative care nurses are familiar with the broader CSNAT approach.

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Face and content validity of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT), and feasibility of the CSNAT intervention, for carers of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic Illness ◽

10.1177/1742395321999433 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174239532199943

Author(s):

Kerry Micklewright ◽

Morag Farquhar

Keyword(s):

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Needs Assessment ◽

Pulmonary Disease ◽

Content Validity ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Support Needs ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Carer Support ◽

The Impact

Objectives Informal carers of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have unmet support needs. Evidence relating to carers’ support needs in chronic conditions informed version 3 of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) which forms part of an intervention to identify and address carer support needs. Aim of study: to establish the face and content validity of CSNAT v3 for use with COPD carers and explore their views on delivery of the CSNAT Intervention in practice. Methods Focus groups conducted September-October 2019 in non-clinical settings recruited eleven COPD carers (two to six participants per group). COPD patients ( n = 2) attended one group to facilitate carer attendance, the impact of which is discussed. Most participating carers were female ( n = 10); carers’ ages ranged 52–79 years. Results CSNAT v3 was easy to understand and complete, and all 15 domains were considered relevant and appropriate, suggesting good face and content validity. The demeanour, relational skills, and knowledge of the CSNAT facilitator appeared more important to carers than being a certain practitioner type. Discussion COPD carers considered the CSNAT Intervention an acceptable way of identifying and responding to their needs. The intervention could potentially be delivered through a range of services.

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Facilitating successful implementation of a person-centred intervention to support family carers within palliative care: a qualitative study of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) intervention

BMC Palliative Care ◽

10.1186/s12904-018-0382-5 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. Diffin ◽

G. Ewing ◽

G. Harvey ◽

G. Grande

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Needs Assessment ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Support Needs ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Family Carers ◽

Carer Support ◽

Support Family

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Reliability, validity and acceptability of the traditional Chinese version of the carer support needs assessment tool in Hong Kong palliative care settings

BMC Palliative Care ◽

10.1186/s12904-021-00852-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hui-Lin Cheng ◽

Doris Yin Ping Leung ◽

Po Shan Ko ◽

Ming Wai Chung ◽

Wai Man Lam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Needs Assessment ◽

Caregiver Burden ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Chinese Version ◽

Support Needs ◽

Family Carers ◽

Carer Support ◽

Care Practices ◽

Test Retest Reliability

Abstract Background Among the few existing needs assessment tools for family carers, the 14-item Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) is the only brief and holistic needs screening tool designed for everyday use in palliative care practices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity, and acceptability of the traditional Chinese version of the CSNAT in palliative care settings in Hong Kong. Methods This adopted a cross-sectional and correlation design with repeated measures. The participants were 125 family carers of palliative cancer patients and 10 healthcare providers (HCPs) that were recruited from two local hospitals. The evaluation of psychometric properties included the following: (1) content validity through HCPs including frontline physicians, nurses, social workers, and clinical psychologists; (2) construct validity between the CSNAT items and those of the validated tools that measured caregiver burden, social support, and caregiving self-efficacy; and (3) one-week test-retest reliability in a sub-sample of 81 caregivers. The acceptability of the tool was assessed by the carers using several closed-ended questions. Results The content validity index of the CSNAT at the scale level was 0.98. Each item of the CSNAT was significantly and moderately correlated with caregiver burden (Spearman’s r = 0.24 to 0.50) and caregiving self-efficacy (r = − 0.21 to − 0.52), but not for social support. All CSNAT items had fair to moderate test-retest reliability (weighted kappa = 0.21 to 0.48), with the exception of two items “managing your relatives’ symptoms, including giving medicines” and “having time for yourself in the day”. Regarding the acceptability of the CSNAT, almost all HCPs were willing to use the CSNAT for carer assessment and support. 89.6% of the carers demonstrated a comprehensibility of the CSNAT tool and 92.9% felt comfortable answering the questions. Around 90% of the carers agreed to use the tool for screening, discussing needs, and making referrals. Conclusion The traditional Chinese version of the CSNAT is a tool with high validity and acceptability and adequate reliability that measures family carers’ support needs, which should be considered for wide application in local palliative care practices.

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