Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers-short Version in Patients with Stroke

Background: Considering the prevalence of stroke, an economical and reliable questionnaire is needed for use in research and rehabilitation to measure the amount of burden on caregivers of stroke patients. True to our knowledge, there is no exclusive Persian language instrument for assessing the burden of stroke caregivers. The current study investigated the validity and reliability of the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers-short version (BSFC-s) for stroke patients’ caregivers.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 51 stroke patients and their caregivers were studied using the above-named questionnaire translated from English into Persian. Construct validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by Spearman and Eta correlation. Cronbach’s Alfa was used to assess internal consistency. Factorial structure was evaluated by exploratory analysis.Results: The test-retest reliability of the questionnaire was calculated to be 0.93, and the questionnaire’s internal consistency was 0.93. The construct validity of the questionnaire was acceptable.Conclusions: In general, it can be said that this questionnaire has a good structure for assessing the burden of caregivers. In addition, by 10 items we can consider this questionnaire as an economically viable option in research and practice.