The validity and reliability of the Zarit burden interview in Greek Cypriot carers of patients with dementia

Aim: The aim of this study was the analysis of the validity and reliability of a scale measuring the burden of care giving “The Burden Interview”. This scale was first published in 1986 as a short and reliable method for the assessment of burden experienced by individuals giving care to their family members suffering from dementia, and is used since then widely throughout the world. MATERiAL-Method: The scale has been given to 172 primary caregivers of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, who were drawn from the Institute of Neurology and Genetics and the Community Mental Health Services in Cyprus. The 22 items of the scale were entered into factor analysis and the method of principal components with VARIMAX rotation was used. Results: The analysis gave 4 factors which explain the 63.92% of the variance and they cover all 22 scale items. The reliability of the questions of every factor was measured with Cronbach’s alpha, and the result was that the general reliability of the scale was excellent (α=0.93), as well as the reliability of the factors that were created during the validity test and are referred to “personal strain”, “role strain”, “deprived relations” and “management of care”. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that the scale of measuring caregiver burden that is based on the “Burden Interview” is a valid and reliable instrument in the hands of the researcher who wants to measure the care giving burden in a Greek speaking population.