Caregiver Strain Index

The Caregiver Strain Index (CSI) is a brief, thirteen-item yes/no screening tool that measures the strain experienced by informal caregivers of older adults. Developed and validated by Betsy Robinson in 1983, it was designed to be a quick, easily administered instrument that flags caregivers struggling with the physical, financial, social, and time demands of providing care. Each of the thirteen items is endorsed or not, the endorsements are summed into a score from zero to thirteen, and a score of seven or more signals a caregiver under high strain who may need support. The index emerged from the recognition that family caregiving, while central to long-term care of frail and ill older people, exacts a measurable toll that ought to be screened for in clinical practice. Its brevity and simple scoring made it one of the earliest practical caregiver-screening tools and it remains widely used, including in a later modified version. It complements more detailed instruments like the Zarit Burden Interview by offering rapid identification rather than in-depth assessment.