More on the QUALITY OF LIFE Tool launched by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers

CARER QUALITY OF LIFE TOOL LAUNCHES

 A new manual to provide health and social care practitioners with a tool  to measure the quality of life of adult, unpaid carers has been launched today (Thursday 17th February 2011).

 The Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire (AC-QoL), published by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, in association with The University of Nottingham, UK, is a simple 40-item instrument which measures a carer’s quality of life in eight domains: support for caring; caring choice; caring stress; money matters; personal growth; sense of value; ability to care; and carer satisfaction.

 The questionnaire can be used on a one-off basis for the purpose of an assessment, or as a pre or post intervention tool to measure change and the impact of support.

 Dr Moira Fraser, Director of Policy of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, said: “We wanted to produce a tool for practitioners who work with carers so they can effectively assess both the negative and positive aspects of caring. We hope the questionnaire will be widely used to help us measure what works in providing support for carers and also help us see trends at a national level.”

 Professor Saul Becker, Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy at The University of Nottingham and a co-author of the questionnaire, said: “This instrument has been researched, designed and tested with hundreds of family carers across Britain to make sure it is effective, easy and quick to complete, and gives an accurate measure of carers’ quality of life. There are almost six million carers in the UK and we hope that this instrument will be useful tool for all those assessing and working with carers, and for those evaluating services and interventions.”

 The Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire is available to download for free, here: http://professionals.carers.org/health/articles/carer-quality-of-life-tool-launches,7010,PR.html

This resource was launched earlier this spring with the mindset of providing an outlet for caregivers to report on the quality of life they were faced with in the wake of being thrust into the intense role of providing intimate care and attention for their loved ones. As we have identified in past articles this summer on Care To Know, the trials and tribulations of caregivers on a daily basis, especially within the Canadian healthcare context, needs to move beyond its current marginalization in discourse and into the mainstream.

What are your thoughts as a caregiver or as someone who knows someone giving care at the moment? Have a look at the tool, and give us some feedback and commentary regarding this here at CareToKnow.org - as always, we want to hear from you.

FYI: for more information or interviews with spokespeople regarding the Carer Quality of Life Tool, contact Sarah Ross, PR Manager at The Princess Royal Trust for Carers on 0208 498 7920 / sross@carers.org