Background The number of persons with dementia is steadily growing, as is the number of individuals supporting persons with dementia. Primary caregivers of persons with dementia are most often family members or spouses of the persons with dementia, and they are more likely to experience increased stress and other negative effects than individuals who are not primary caregivers. Although in-person support groups have been shown to help buffer the negative impacts of caregiving, some caregivers live in isolated or rural communities and are unable to make the burdensome commitment of traveling to cities. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we developed a mobile smartphone support app designed for primary caregivers of persons with dementia, with the goal of reducing caregiver burden and easing stress. The app features a 12-week intervention, largely rooted in mindfulness-based self-compassion (MBSC), because MBSC has been linked to minimizing stress, depression, and anxiety. Objective The primary objectives of our program are twofold: to explore the feasibility of a 12-week mobile support program and to conduct an initial efficacy evaluation of changes in perceived caregiver burden, coping styles, and emotional well-being of caregivers before and after the program. Methods Our feasibility study used a 2-phase participatory pretest and posttest design, focusing on acceptability, demand, practicality, implementation, and efficacy. At phase I, we recruited 57 primary caregivers of persons with dementia (mean age 76.3, SD 12.9 years), comprising spouses (21/57, 37%), children (21/57, 37%), and friends or relatives (15/57, 26%) of persons with dementia, of whom 29 (51%) completed all measures at both pre- and postprogram. The content of the program featured a series of MBSC podcasts. Our primary outcome measure was caregiver burden, with secondary outcome measures including coping styles and emotional well-being. Daily ecological momentary assessments enabled us to ask participants, “How are you feeling today?” Phase II of our study involved semistructured follow-up interviews with most participants (n=21) who completed phase I. Results Our findings suggest that our app or program meets the feasibility criteria examined. Notably, participants generally accepted the program and believed it could be a useful resource. Emotional well-being increased significantly (P=.04), and emotion-based coping significantly decreased (P=.01). Participants generally considered the app or program to be a helpful resource. Conclusions Although there were no significant changes in caregiver burden, we were encouraged by the increased emotional well-being of our participants following the completion of our program. We also conclude that our app or program demonstrated feasibility (ie, acceptability, practicality, implementation, and efficacy) and can provide a much-needed resource for primary caregivers of persons with dementia. In the subsequent version of the program, we will respond to participant feedback by incorporating web-based weekly sessions and incorporating an outcome measure of self-compassion.

BACKGROUND As the number of persons with dementia (PWD) continues to grow worldwide, so too does the number of individuals supporting PWD. Primary caregivers of persons with dementia (CGPWD) are most often family members or spouses of the PWD, who are more likely to experience increased stress and other negative effects (e.g., depression, anxiety, decreased well-being) linked to their caregiving responsibilities than individuals who are not primary CGPWD. While in-person support groups and/or interventions have been shown to help buffer the negative impacts of caregiving, some CGPWDs may be unable to participate in these established programs due to long travel distances, caregiving commitments, or their own health issues. We developed a program for CGPWD to be delivered via a mobile smartphone support app, with a goal of reducing caregiver burden and easing the stress involved with caregiving responsibilities. The program features a 12-week intervention, largely rooted in mindfulness-based self-compassion (MBSC), since MBSC has been linked to minimizing stress, depression and anxiety. OBJECTIVE The primary objectives of program were twofold: 1) to explore the feasibility of a 12-week mobile support program, and 2) to conduct an initial efficacy evaluation of changes in perceived caregiver burden, coping styles, and emotional well-being of caregivers prior to and following the program. METHODS Our feasibility study employed a two-phase, participatory pre-test, post-test design, focused on acceptability, practicality, implementation, and efficacy. At Phase I, we recruited 57 primary CGPWD (Mage = 76.3 years; SDage = 12.9), representing spouses (36.2%), children (36.2), and friends/relatives (27.6%) of PWD, of whom 29 (50.8%) completed all measures at both pre and post program. Content of the program featured a series of MBSC podcasts. Our primary outcome measure was caregiver burden, with secondary outcome measures including coping styles and emotional well-being. As well, there were daily ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), which enabled us to ask participants “How are you feeling today?”. Phase II of our study involved a semi-structured follow-up interview of the majority of participants (n = 21) who completed Phase I. RESULTS Our findings suggest that our program met the feasibility criteria that were examined. Participants generally accepted the program and believed it could be/was a useful resource. Emotional well-being increased significantly (P = .04) and emotion-based coping significantly decreased (P = .01). Participants generally considered the program to be a helpful resource. CONCLUSIONS This program was found to be feasible (acceptable, practical, implementation, and potentially efficacious) for CGPWD, and provides the basis for future testing and deployment of a much-needed resource for CGPWD. We are encouraged by the findings of this feasibility study, which demonstrated increased emotional well-being of our participants following their completion of our program.