Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences

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The Carer Experience Scale

@ICECAPm

The Carer Experience Scale (CES) is a profile measure of the caring experience for use in economic evaluation. Unlike most profile measures used in economic evaluations, the CES focuses on 'care-related quality of life' rather than health-related quality of life, comprising attributes that are pertinent to unpaid carers.

The CES comprises six conceptual attributes

  • Activities
  • Support (from family and friends)
  • Assistance (from organisations)
  • Fulfillment
  • Control
  • Getting-on (with the care recipient)

The CES profile measure was developed using qualitative methods. A set of index values for the CES have been estimated using a best-worst scaling study of unpaid carers for older people in England.

Development and Validity

The  Carer Experience Scale (CES) is measure of the experience of providing informal or unpaid care.  (It is not a capability measure.)  The descriptive system was developed using a meta-ethnography of existing qualitative data, followed by semi-structured interviews with carers of older people analysed using Framework.  A best-worst scaling study with carers of older people in the UK was used to generate values for the CES.  There are a number of studies available that provide information about the validity of the measure. 

CES Registration

Before using CES in your study please register with us first. You do not have to pay to use the measure, but please complete the CES User Agreement Form (Office document, 24kB). 

Once you have completed the form please email a copy to Hareth Al-Janabi.

If you are interested in translating the CES into another language please contact Hareth Al-Janabi

CES Questionnaire

You can download a copy of the CES questionnaire by clicking on the following link CES Questionnaire (PDF, 72kB)

Please remember to register with us before you start using the questionnaire

References

The development of the Carer Experience Scale is described in:

Al-Janabi H, Coast J, Flynn TN.  What do people value when they provide unpaid care? A meta-ethnography with interview follow-up.  Social Science & Medicine.  2008;67:111-121.

Index values for the Carer Experience Scale appear in:

Al-Janabi H, Flynn T, Coast J.  Estimation of a preference-based Carer Experience Scale. Medical Decision Making. 2011; 31(3):458-68.

An assessment of the construct validity of the CES is reported in:

Goranitis I, Coast J & Al=Janabi H. An investigation into the construct validity of the Carer Experience Scale (CES). Quality of Life Research DOI 10.1007/s11136-013

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