The purpose of the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) is to detect potential abuse of seniors by caregivers. It is a screening tool, not an assessment tool, so like other screening tools it should be administered to all caregivers whether abuse is suspected or not.
The CASE tool was created by Myrna Reis and Daphne Nahmiash and is designed to be administered to caregivers of elderly individuals. It comprises eight yes or no questions, and can make a handy tool to use in psychosocial assessments if you are a counsellor or a case manager.
The CASE is scored by summing the “Yes” responses; a greater score indicates a greater potential of abuse. There is no cut-off above or below which abuse would or would not be suspected; it must be evaluated in conjunction with other factors as part of your overall assessment.
The CASE reports good psychometric properties. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.71 was reported for six out of the eight items, 1-4, 6, and 8 (Carver College of Medicine, n.d.) You can download the CASE from NICE, the National Institute for the Care of the Elderly.
Bibliography
Instrument psychometrics summary, n.d., University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Retrieved fromhttp://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/uploadedFiles/Departments/FamilyMedicine/Content/Research/Research_Projects/summary.doc
National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly. 2010, Caregiver abuse screen (case), Retrieved from http://www.nicenet.ca/files/Case.pdf