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Mobile applications for informal caregivers: a systematic review of existing mobile applications

Skolik, Kamila (2018) Mobile applications for informal caregivers: a systematic review of existing mobile applications.

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Abstract:Worldwide, there are many informal caregivers who care for someone. As a result, they may experience stress and negative feelings. To support informal caregivers many different face-to-face and web-based interventions have been developed. However, these interventions have some disadvantages. Mobile health could be a possible solution. It can be integrated in the informal caregivers’ everyday lives. This study aims to examine which mobile applications exist, what their content is, and what kind of mHealth features are incorporated. A systematic review in Apple’s App Store was conducted with the Dutch and English search terms “caregiver”, “mantelzorger”, “informal caregiver”, “mantelzoger”, and “informal care”. All mobile applications were analyzed with two extraction sheets. One was about the content of the mobile applications related to caregiving tasks and to informal caregivers’ well-being. The other one was related to mHealth. The results showed that mobile applications are scarce (N=35). Most of the content related features refer to practical tools related to caregiving such as creating a care team. Referring to mHealth it appeared that the most used modal presentation is text-based. This study emphasized the limited availability of mobile applications. Further research is needed to examine which features are effective to incorporate in mobile applications.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology MSc (66604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/74849
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