Conceptualization of an evidence-based smartphone innovation for caregivers and persons living with dementia

Abstract

Recent statistics released by Alzheimer's Disease International has highlighted how prevalent dementia will become in the next couple of years. Along with the increased incidence of individuals being diagnosed with dementia, there has also been an increment in the number of informal carers for people living with dementia. A recent report highlighted that in Australia, there are an estimated of 200,000 informal carers as of 2011. Caring for people who are living with dementia is not an easy task. Previous studies have highlighted that as much as 65% of caregivers do experience symptoms suggestive of depressive symptoms in the process of care. With the rapid advances in technology, it is of no surprise that information technology and its related innovations have been used in dementia care. A review of the existing literature shows that much of these innovations are focused on the care of patients affiliated with dementia. However, clearly interventions focusing on the needs of the dementia cohort of patient are limited. There are currently more emerging studies demonstrating the efficacy of web-based interventional toolkits for carers who are caring for individuals with dementia. Whilst there are previous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of smartphone interventions for dementia patients, there remains a paucity of smartphone based interventions for caregivers who are living with people with dementia. This technical note describes the conceptualization of an evidence based smartphone intervention for patients living with dementia, as well as for carers of these patients.

Health apps usage and preferences among Saudi patients with diabetes: A survey

“…One solution is to design applications which involve younger caregivers as demonstrated in the care of elderly suffering from dementia. 25 The study has some limitations. This survey focused on patients who were reporting to a specialized tertiary diabetes care center in a public university hospital.…”

“…This finding has to be kept in mind before implementing any health application based patient program. One solution is to design applications which involve younger caregivers as demonstrated in the care of elderly suffering from dementia …”

Self-reported physical and mental health of Australian carers: a cross-sectional study

“…11 Although there are a number of Australian studies on caregiving, many have either looked at specific health issues such as chronic heart conditions, 13 motor neuron and other similar degenerative diseases, 14 15 Alzheimer's or dementia, [16][17][18] specific cancers 19 and palliative care and/or end-of-life care issues. 20 21 Almost all studies on carers' health with the exception of a recent qualitative study 22 have been conducted in large cities and metropolitan areas.…”

“…24 Scores on the K-10 range from 10 to 50 with higher scores indicating higher levels of psychological distress. The designated cut-off scores for low (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), moderate (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21), high (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) and very high (30-50) levels of psychological distress. Australian population norms were drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics data.…”

Mobile Breast Cancer e-Support Program for Chinese Women With Breast Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy (Part 1): Qualitative Study of Women�s Perceptions (Preprint)

“…Compared to traditional face-to-face interventions, connecting with the BCS program meant that women were able to access information and social support at anytime and anywhere [27]. Taking advantage of the app's technical capabilities, the BCS program provided women the opportunity to learn tailored information, watch encouraging stories, and chat with peers and health care professionals [16].…”