We investigated the experiences and compliance of informal caregivers using a connected health platform to support people with dementia (PwD) in a real-world home care setting. Over six months, caregivers shared their perceptions of the platform’s usability, usefulness, and challenges. Although the platform initially inspired optimism, long-term use revealed gaps in addressing caregivers’ specific needs and low compliance rates. Our findings underscore the need for personalized and user-centered approaches in designing health technologies.
What was the context of our study?
Dementia care often falls on informal caregivers, typically family members, who provide crucial yet demanding support. Connected health platforms, which integrate monitoring devices and communication tools, promise to ease this burden. However, many connected health solutions are tested under limited conditions, leaving gaps in understanding how these tools perform over extended use in real-life settings. Our study aimed to address this gap by evaluating caregivers’ interactions with a connected health platform deployed in their homes.
What did we do?
We conducted a mixed-methods study as part of the CHESS project, a three-year longitudinal research initiative. Eleven informal caregivers participated in a six-month evaluation of a connected health platform designed for dementia care. The platform provided monitoring tools for tracking PwD health parameters such as blood pressure, activity, and sleep.; educational resources offering caregiving advice; daily questionnaires to capture caregiver and PwD health data. We analyzed compliance data and conducted interviews before and after deployment to capture changes in caregivers’ perceptions.
What did we find?
Caregivers’ initial optimism gave way to frustration as the platform failed to meet their expectations. Most caregivers had low engagement, completing fewer than 40% of the daily tasks. Monitoring tools and questionnaires were often perceived as irrelevant or overly clinical, neglecting the dynamic needs of PwD. – Caregivers cited insufficient training, lack of personalization, and perceived burdensome features as obstacles to sustained use. Some participants valued specific tools, such as the sleep and blood pressure monitors, for facilitating discussions with clinicians.
Why is this important?
Our findings highlight critical gaps in connected health platform design for dementia care. While these technologies hold promise, their success hinges on aligning features with caregivers’ practical needs and providing clear, accessible training. This study emphasizes the importance of long-term, real-world evaluations to develop solutions that truly support caregivers and improve the quality of home care for PwD.
Reference
Guisado-Fernández E, Giunti G, Mackey LM, et al. Informal Caregivers’ Attitudes and Compliance Towards a Connected Health Platform for Home Care Support: Insights from a Long-Term Exposure. *Gerontechnology.* 2019;18(4):231-242. https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2019.18.4.005.00.