Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Content Validation of the Spanish Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) in Family Caregivers of Patients Receiving Home-Based Palliative Care in Chile
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2026
Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Content Validation of the Spanish Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) in Family Caregivers of Patients Receiving Home-Based Palliative Care in Chile
When caring for patients with life-threatening disease, the family caregivers’ life and health are affected. This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the content of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) and to identify support needs in family caregivers of patients receiving home-based palliative care in Chile.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted between May and December 2023 in two Chilean healthcare institutions. It involved three phases: (a) translation/adaptation of the Spanish-CSNAT, (b) cultural adaptation of the CSNAT by an expert committee, and (c) caregivers pretesting CSNAT followed by interviews. Experts and caregivers evaluated the content (clarity and relevance) of the sixteen CSNAT domains. Caregivers reported their support needs and whether CSNAT should include additional needs.
Results
Nine experts and thirty-six caregivers participated. The experts found linguistic issues in four domains, which were revised by the CSNAT team-UK. A large proportion of experts (67-100%) and caregivers (90-100%) reported each of the CSNAT domains as clear. The domain with the highest average relevance-score was ‘looking after your own health’. Cognitive interviews with caregivers showed high acceptability of CSNAT. ‘Knowing what to expect in the future’ was the need caregivers most often wished more support for (77%). Emotional support, lack of free time and financial support were identified as needs not covered by CSNAT.
Conclusion
The Spanish CSNAT showed good content validity for detecting support needs in family caregivers of patients receiving home-based palliative care in Chile. Therefore, we recommend its use in clinical practice and palliative care research.
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