Table 2

Validated instruments to determine specific caregiver outcomes collected at baseline: after completion of the 10-week treatment programme and 6 and 12 months postintervention in family caregivers from both randomised controlled trial arms

Scale/ Tool	Approach taken	Outcome evaluated
Caregiver Burden Scale12 30	22 questions on the impact of the care recipient's disabilities on caregiver life Total burden score calculated;12 31 higher scores indicate higher levels of caregiver burden	Assesses how the caregiver perceives the impact of the burden of caregiving (subjective caregiver burden). This is the primary outcome Topics covered are: caregiver's health, psychological well-being, finances, social life and relationship between caregiver and care recipient
Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10)32	10 items; a score of ≥10 out of 30 indicates significant depressive symptoms32	Measures depressive feelings and behaviours experienced in the past week
General Self-Efficacy Scale33	10 items; total score ranges between 10 and 40, with a higher score indicating more self-efficacy	Assess a general sense of perceived self-efficacy with the aim in mind to predict coping with daily hassles as well as adaptation after experiencing all kinds of stressful life events
Fatigue Severity Scale34	9 items; a score of ≥4 generally means that the fatigue is severe	Questionnaire that rates the severity of fatigue symptoms in individuals.
EQ-5D-5L35	Defines health in terms of 5 dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression Used to calculate utility weights and quality-adjusted life years during the duration of the trial	Generic instrument for describing and valuing health will be administered to caregivers Used for cost–utility analysis