An international validation of a clinical tool to assess carers’ quality of life in Huntington’s Disease.
Authors
Aubeeluck, AimeeStupple, Edward J. N.
Schofield, Malcolm B.

Hughes, Alis C.
van der Meer, Lucienne
Landwehrmeyer, Bernhard
Ho, Aileen K.
Affiliation
University of DerbyUniversity of Nottingham
Leiden University Medical Centre
Ulm University Medical Center
University of Reading
Issue Date
2019-07-23
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Family carers of individuals living with Huntington’s disease (HD) manage a distinct and unique series of difficulties arising from the complex nature of HD. This paper presents the validation of the definitive measure of quality of life (QoL) for this group. The Huntington’s Disease Quality of Life Battery for Carers (HDQoL-C) was expanded (n = 47) and then administered to an international sample of 1716 partners and family carers from 13 countries. In terms of the psychometric properties of the tool, exploratory analysis of half of the sample demonstrated good internal consistency and reliability. Some items on the full version did not meet psychometric thresholds and a short version (HDQoL-Cs) (n = 23) was developed based on more stringent criteria. This was achieved using standard psychometric item reduction techniques to both increase reliability and reduce the burden of carers completing the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis of the model structure showed a good fit for all factors and indicated that the HDQoL-C and HDQoL-Cs are psychometrically robust measures of QoL. We found that carers who lived with and looked after their spouse/partner had reduced sense of coping, hope for the future, and overall QoL. Carers with children who were at risk carried the gene or were symptomatic also had poorer QoL outcomes. Findings indicated the HDQoL-C and HDQoL-Cs are valid in multiple languages and across varied cultures as measures of self-reported QoL in family carers of individual’s living with HD. These psychometrically validated tools can aid and guide the implementation of therapeutic interventions to improve life quality in this population and research into international and cross-cultural carer experiences. The HDQoL-Cs is recommended as the definitive international measure of HD carer QoL.Citation
Aubeeluck, A. et al. (2019) 'An international validation of a clinical tool to assess carers’ quality of life in Huntington’s Disease', Frontiers in Psychology, 10:1658. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01658.Publisher
FrontiersJournal
Frontiers in PsychologyDOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01658Additional Links
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01658/fullType
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1664-1078ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01658
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