Informal Dementia Caregivers: Current Technology Use and Acceptance of Technology in Care

Abstract

(1) Background: Given the increased social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges faced by informal dementia caregivers have increased. An increasing use of technology, both in care and dementia clinical trials, depends upon caregivers’ abilities as a user. Accordingly, the aim of our study was to verify the current technology (smartphone and computer) use and acceptance in care, regarding socio-demographic variables; (2) Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to 102 dementia caregivers, mostly of patients with moderate dementia; (3) Results: The majority of participants were women (63%), and large number of them used technological devices such as a smartphone (91%) or computer (81%). Results revealed differences between age, gender, and education level on technology acceptance. Interestingly, smartphone use and acceptance seemed to be feasible, regardless of age, whereas computer use was negatively correlated with age. Technology was perceived by respondents as most useful for patients’ activities including locomotion, toileting, and meals; (4) Conclusions: The future of technology use in dementia care should indicate solutions tailored to individual characteristics such as new technology solutions (GPS trackers, smartphone apps, dietary intervention, and meal planning apps).

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on family carers in the community: A scoping review

“…Technology was also reported as a good informal support measure to connect socially with loved ones (Tam et al., 2021). Smartphone use and acceptance were seen as feasible regardless of age, however, computer use was negatively correlated with age (Wójcik et al., 2021).…”

Wearable Activity Tracker Use and Physical Activity Among Informal Caregivers in the United States: Quantitative Study

“…The gap in access to digital technologies, including wearable devices, can widen the already present health and health care disparities [2]. Evidence shows that the younger, more educated, wealthier, and tech-savvy adults are more likely to use wearables compared with older adults, those with lower education and income, and non-tech-savvy individuals [21,28,48]. Farivar et al [49] explored the extent to which factors were associated with the adoption of wearable devices among older adults by conducting a mixed methods study and found their perceived complexity in using wearable devices as a barrier to adoption.…”

Towards Conversational Agents to support Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia: Challenges and Opportunities

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