Use of the measurement of medication administration hassles with Mexican American family caregivers

Abstract

This study builds on earlier work on medication administration hassles, minor daily irritants experienced by family caregivers of older relatives, by investigating the feasibility of using the Family Caregiver Medication Administration Hassles Scale (FCMAHS) for use with Mexican American caregivers. Appropriate medication administration is a critical factor in the effective management of chronic illness. When medication regimens are managed on behalf of an older care recipient, especially those with numerous medications for a variety of conditions, the caregiving task is even more complex. Relying on family support is common for older Mexican Americans. Despite this, there is little known about how Mexican Americans are handling their caregiving duties at home. A non-experimental methodological design was used to assess the psychometric properties of the FCMAHS with Mexican Americans, chosen because they are a rapidly growing population in the US. A purposive sample of 239 Mexican American adult caregivers, recruited in Dallas and San Diego, completed a brief biographical survey and the version of the FCMAHS created for Mexican Americans, i.e., the FCMAHS-MA. Principal axis factoring with orthogonal rotation was used to extract six factors which accounted for 53% of the variance in total scores - initial information seeking, safety issues, advanced information acquisition, scheduling, daily routine and prescription filling. Reliability estimates for the factors (alpha) ranged from 0.70-0.90. Test-retest reliability across a three-week interval was r = 0.64. The FCMAHC-MA shows promise as a guide for future caregiving intervention studies on family medication management for older relatives; however, it would benefit from refinement in future studies. Understanding family caregivers' hassles with medication administration is important because these hassles can accumulate and lead to caregiver strain. Culturally relevant intervention depends on accurate measurement of the hassles experienced by these caregivers.