Survey for Caregivers Aged 50 and Over

CARE is a frailty scale. The AgeTeQ team has developed this scale, which enables frailty to be assessed via a standardized self-questionnaire comprising 22 simple questions, 20 of which are based on a binary response (yes versus no) and two on numerical. CARE is based on a cumulative deficit approach to measuring frailty. Each response is assigned a point 1 if there is a deficit, and 0 if there is no deficit.

The CARE score ranges from 0 (no deficits) to 21 (maximum cumulative deficits). This score has been segmented into 3 levels using a validated approach to determine 3 levels of frailty:

• The robust level: score between 0 and 1.
• Pre-fragile level: score between 2 and 4.
• Fragile level: score > 5.

The caregiver burden is assessed using the 4-item Zarit scale. This scale asks four questions that reflect how caregivers feel when caring for their loved ones. For each statement, the respondent is asked to indicate a frequency: never, rarely, sometimes, quite often and almost always.

The Geriatric Depression Scale or GDS was designed to assess the presence of depressive feelings and suicidal intentions in the elderly. It is essentially a screening test for depressive impairment or state. The GDS is initially composed of 30 questions with a binary response choice (yes or no). For reasons of questionnaire length, it was decided to use an abbreviated version of the GDS with 4 items. The GDS then gives a score between 0 and 4, with 0 corresponding to a very high probability of no depression, and 1 or more corresponding to a very high probability of depression.

A question is asked to measure the social isolation of caregivers, taking into account the number of contacts (in person or by telephone) with people outside the household (friends, family, professionals).

The 3-item UCLA scale is a screening tool for loneliness in adults. The scale consists of three questions, with frequency options: never, sometimes and often. The score can vary between 3 and 9. A high score indicates a high degree of loneliness.

Three additional questions are asked in the form of a scale (ranging from 0 to 10) to assess the perceived health of caregivers. For each domain, the respondent is asked to indicate his or her state of perceived health, ranging from 0 (the worst state of health the respondent can imagine) to 10 (the best state of health the respondent can imagine). Three health domains are investigated: psychological health, physical health and social isolation.