Smartphones and tablets have become an indispensable part of everyday life. The number of mobile apps is growing rapidly, including in the healthcare sector. Spanish researchers have examined apps specifically designed for family caregivers. They wanted to verify whether the applications are truly tailored to the needs of this target group.
According to Marina Sala-González and her colleagues, these needs have been thoroughly investigated. The most frequently mentioned needs included the health of caregivers, particularly mental health, time constraints, managing multiple medications, coordinating appointments with various medical professionals, emotional burden, lack of free time, impact on social relationships, and insufficient information about the illness and treatment.
Regarding these needs, mobile apps could also be helpful, the authors write. For example, they could assist with providing educational information, reminding users of medical appointments, coordinating care, and managing medications. The aim of their study was therefore to evaluate mobile applications for informal caregivers and to examine whether these were developed taking into account the needs of the target group.
Conducted in-depth interviews with caregivers
For their review, they evaluated eleven studies published between January 2011 and July 2020. The individual studies involved between 4 and 90 nurses. The period during which they tested the apps ranged from one week to six months. The mobile apps in question were partly developed for nurses of people with dementia, partly for relatives of cancer patients or individuals with other illnesses.
The researchers' evaluation showed that most studies had taken the needs of informal caregivers into account when creating or adapting app functions. For example, in-depth interviews were conducted with the caregivers.
What was used the most and rated the best?
Among the most common features of the tested apps were summaries with information about the person being cared for, educational information (information about the illness and treatment), services for caregivers, solutions for common problems during care, and questionnaires to assess caregiver well-being.
The participants found the following content to be most valuable: assessment of nurses' mental well-being, the opportunity to contact the responsible medical contact person, assessment of behavioral disorders, information about available services for nurses, and training videos with practical tips.
The most frequently used features included patient information summaries, a general symptom checklist (which indicates when a call to the hospital is advisable), a behavioral problem checklist, educational information, and reminder functions.
Evidence of effectiveness is rare
Only three of the eleven studies examined the effectiveness of mobile applications – and came to positive results. Previous studies have also shown that Evidence of the effectiveness of apps is often lacking.
The authors' conclusion is positive: mobile applications can be a good support for informal caregivers, provided they are developed according to their needs. They could help reduce the burden on caregivers and improve their quality of life.
Try for free: the NUI app for family caregivers
The digiDEM Bavaria website also links to an app for family caregivers: the “NUI App” offers support in everyday caregiving, for example, with information about services provided by health insurance funds, practical tips, help with communication and scheduling for multiple caregivers, and an expert chat. Together with digiDEM Bavaria, the NUI App offers the opportunity to test the application free of charge for one year. All further information can be found here.
Here you will find the complete study:
Mobile Apps for Helping Informal Caregivers: A Systematic Review December 20th
