CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Wisconsin Quality of Life Index (W-QLI) Caregiver Questionnaire is a comprehensive multi-dimensional measurement tool that reflects the perspective of the client’s primary caregiver. On the basis of previous research, our clinical experience, and recommendations from an advisory board convened to develop the index, we used four scales in the caregiver questionnaire: 1) services, 2) family assistance, 3) life activities and goals, and 4) the QoL uniscale. The first three scales can be individually weighted depending on their relative importance to the patient. In addition, there are a number of open-ended questions which give the caregiver the opportunity to share their opinion about what the most important factors are for improving treatment outcomes for the client. This instrument is meant to be used in conjunction with two other instruments that measure patient QoL from the client and clinician perspectives. This instrument is particularly useful for examining discrepancies between client and caregiver and between caregiver and provider in terms of assessing client’s treatment goals and overall QoL. This survey is also helpful for assessing family burden. The Wisconsin Quality of Life Index Caregiver Questionnaire was designed to be self-administered though respondents can be assisted if necessary.

Services

These questions ask about the degree to which the caregiver believes he/she is working in cooperation with the mental health provider.

Family Assistance

Questions in this domain focus on the amount of daily assistance (ADL) required by the client from family or significant others and asks caregivers about their feelings in relation to providing the needed assistance. Elicited information can be used to measure the client’s need for caregiver assistance, to monitor changes in the level of assistance required, as well as assessing caregivers’ feelings about providing that assistance.

Life Activities and Goals

This domain can be used in two ways. Each part (activity, daily living, health, support and outlook) can be scored individually and compared with client and provider responses to the same items. The scale can also be averaged for a total score.

Goal Attainment

This section focuses on the caregiver’s perspective on the most important treatment goals for the client, and their evaluation about whether those goals are being achieved. Caregivers are asked to specify the three most important goals for the client’s improvement with treatment. Goals are ranked both in terms of their relative importance to the client as well as the extent to which the responder believes the client’s goals have been achieved.

The Caregiver Quality of Life Questionnaire contains a number of items that do not load in any specific domains but which are valuable in both an applied or theoretical context. Examples of these include:

Contact

These variables (C1-C12) can be used to examine the relationship between client’s contact with caregiver(s) and treatment outcomes.

Hope

Question (Q5) provides the opportunity to examine the role of caregiver hope in improving the client’s QoL and how treatment outcomes and family burden measures vary depending on differing levels of caregiver hope.

Locus of Control