Department of Psychology and Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina, Regina, Canada.
Aging Ment Health. 2024 Apr;28(4):577-586. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2023.2177832. Epub 2023 Feb 12.
Informal caregivers of people living with dementia (ICPDs) experience stressors that can lead to adverse outcomes. Although apps for ICPDs are available, evidence to support their effectiveness is limited. This investigation was aimed at providing an evaluation of available apps for ICPDs.
We conducted two studies: 1) search and evaluation of available apps; and 2) controlled trial of two apps identified in the Study 1 (NCT05217004). For Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to one of the two app-using groups or a control group. Outcome measures were administered before, post-intervention, and at a follow-up. Interviews with caregivers were conducted to examine their needs regarding the development of future apps.
Sixteen apps were examined in Study 1. Results suggest that the number and type of features present in each app may not be sufficient to address the multifaceted needs of ICPDs. In Study 2, contrary to expectation, we did not identify differences between the app-using and control conditions on our outcome measures. Participants noted several content and user-experience needs to consider in developing new apps.
Findings from the investigation can inform future developments of apps to address the needs of ICPDs.
痴呆症患者的非正式照护者（ICPDs）会经历压力源，这些压力源可能导致不良后果。尽管有针对 ICPD 的应用程序，但支持其有效性的证据有限。本研究旨在对现有的 ICPD 应用程序进行评估。
我们进行了两项研究：1）搜索和评估现有的应用程序；2）对第一项研究中确定的两个应用程序进行对照试验（NCT05217004）。对于第二项研究，参与者被随机分配到两个使用应用程序的组之一或对照组。在干预前后和随访时进行了结果测量。对照顾者进行了访谈，以了解他们对未来应用程序开发的需求。
在第一项研究中，我们检查了 16 个应用程序。结果表明，每个应用程序中存在的功能数量和类型可能不足以满足 ICPD 的多方面需求。在第二项研究中，与预期相反，我们在结果测量上没有发现使用应用程序和对照组之间的差异。参与者指出了在开发新应用程序时需要考虑的几个内容和用户体验需求。
本研究的结果可以为满足 ICPD 需求的应用程序的未来发展提供信息。
