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Printed on 4/21/2026
For informational purposes only. This is not medical advice.
The Caregiver Strain Index is a brief 13-item checklist assessing strain related to care provision across financial, physical, social, and time domains. It is widely used to identify caregivers who may benefit from respite, counseling, and additional support services.
Formula: CSI total = number of strain items endorsed (0-13).
CSI is a long-standing caregiver-strain screening tool with broad use across clinical care settings.
Higher CSI totals indicate greater caregiver strain and stronger need for caregiver-focused support.
Use in routine caregiver assessment to identify strain early and guide support planning.
Binary responses may miss nuance of burden severity; consider follow-up qualitative assessment.
For related assessments, see Zarit-12, Pfeffer FAQ and ECog-12.
Disclaimer: This tool is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your health.
A brief caregiver-burden questionnaire used to quantify strain in dementia and chronic-care contexts.
GeriatricsAssess instrumental daily-function impairment with the 10-item Pfeffer FAQ (0-30).
GeriatricsInformant-rated everyday cognition decline scale summarized by mean score across 12 items.
GeriatricsAssess frailty using the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS 1–9): Very Fit to Terminally Ill. Used for ICU triage, surgical risk stratification, and goals-of-care discussions in elderly patients.