ABSTRACT

Our aim was to validate the Turkish version of the 12- item form of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (T-ZBI-12) as an instrument to measure the caregiver burden in caregivers of patients with dementia in Turkey and to evaluate its reliability.

A total of 90 caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients with dementia from two outpatient clinics were included in the study. MMSE was used to determine dementia severity, and validity was examined using the correlation between the T-ZBI-12 and MMSE score. We used item-total correlations to check whether there was an item inconsistent with the rest of the interview.

The abbreviated scale (T-ZBI-12) is valid and reliable, with a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.92. All item-total correlations were significant (p<0.01). The results demonstrated good validity, with significant correlations between caregiver burden and dementia severity.

T-ZBI-12 is reliable and valid for the assessment of dementia caregiver burden in Turkey.

Keywords: Alzheimer, caregiver, Zarit Caregiver Burden