Evaluation of an e-health platform for informal caregivers and health professionals: the case study of Help2Care

Gomes, Nuno; Caroço, João; Rijo, Rui; Martinho, Ricardo; Querido, Ana; Peralta, Teresa; Dixe, Maria dos Anjos

doi:10.1080/17538157.2021.1964509

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Evaluating IT applications for informal caregivers is important in identifying and addressing usability issues and ensuring that they are effective and useful for their intended purpose [14]. Caroço et al [15] and Gomes et al [16] report on the usability studies of Help2Care, an eHealth platform that provides digital training materials for informal caregivers. Both studies found that the platform had less usable aspects, such as navigation flow and design elements, which were identified through usability tests.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing and Evaluating IT Applications for Informal Caregivers: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Premanandan¹,

Ahmad²,

Cajander³

et al. 2023

JMIR Res Protoc

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Background A growing number of informal caregivers in many countries are important for effective functioning of health care in our society. Hence, they must receive the required support and services to continue providing care. IT applications can be used to support informal caregivers in their caregiving activities. However, evidence-informed guidelines for developing such IT applications and their evaluation are scarce. Hence, this scoping review can aid researchers and designers by providing design recommendations for IT apps for caregivers and potentially improve the design of IT applications for caregivers to meet their needs better. Objective This study aims to describe the proposal for a scoping review of current practices and recommendations in designing and evaluating IT applications for informal caregivers. The scoping review will also discuss the opportunities and challenges in designing these IT applications. Methods We will use a 5-step scoping review methodology to map relevant literature published as follows: (1) identify the research question, (2) identify relevant studies, (3) select relevant studies for review, (4) chart the data from selected literature, and (5) summarize and report results. A structured search will be conducted in PubMed, Scopus, IEEE digital library, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library databases. In addition, hand searches of reference lists and keyword searches in Google Scholar will also be conducted. Inclusion criteria will be researched (journal and conference) articles focused on IT applications designed for use by informal caregivers and study type to be qualitative studies. Two reviewers will independently identify articles for review and extract data. Conflicts will be discussed, and a third reviewer will be consulted if a consensus cannot be reached. These data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. Results The results from this scoping review will be presented in a narrative form, and additional data on study characteristics will be presented in diagrams or tabular format. Uppsala University first initiated this scoping review protocol in December 2021 as part of the European Union–funded project ENTWINE. This work was also supported by the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Cancer Society. The results will be presented in August 2023 and will be disseminated through a report to the European Union and a peer-reviewed journal publication. In addition, the team plans to share its findings on various public platforms, including social media, blog posts, and relevant conferences and workshops. Conclusions This is, to our knowledge, the first study to map the literature on the design and evaluation of IT applications for informal caregivers. The scoping review’s results will detail the requirements, design suggestions, and user preferences, as well as the usability criteria and features of IT applications for informal caregivers. A mapping of studies could inform the design and implementation of future IT applications for informal caregivers. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/47650

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Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing and Evaluating IT Applications for Informal Caregivers: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Premanandan¹,

Ahmad²,

Cajander³

et al. 2023

JMIR Res Protoc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Phase III (DHI prototype) comprises the co-design and development of the mHealth app (Help2Care-PAL) to provide access to appropriate training materials, evaluate caregiver knowledge about these materials and collect feedback about their use, so that materials can be reviewed when necessary, offering a greater learning capacity and improved caring skills, especially for new ICs (Gomes et al, 2021). The health literacy concepts proposed by Broderick et al (2014cited in Rathnayake et al, 2018-such as 'write actionable content' , 'display content clearly' , 'organize and simplify' and 'engage users'-will be incorporated.…”

Section: Phase III (Dhi Prototype)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The web application will help manage users (administrators, health professionals and caregivers), patient needs and training materials. Among other features, questionnaires can be used to verify whether caregivers or self-care patients can perform a certain task or use a specific material (Gomes et al, 2021). Through the mobile application, the health professional will be able to provide the caregiver with training materials, according to patient needs.…”

Section: Phase III (Dhi Prototype)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participation in social contexts, in caring and supportive situations, despite troublesome symptoms and severe illness, provides a positive connection to life and loved ones. Furthermore, by enhancing the skills and psychological wellbeing of ICs, these technologies contribute towards improving the QoL, digital literacy and social inclusion of the care receiver (Widberg et al, 2020;Gomes et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, and compared with other digital solutions, this DHI will enable tailored care (specific information) according to patient and family needs, monitored and prepared by a health professional. All the information presented to the caregiver is validated by a professional, guaranteeing the carer does not get the wrong information (Gomes et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Building Bridges for “Palliative Care-in-Place”: Development of a mHealth Intervention for Informal Home Care

et al. 2022

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BackgroundIn Palliative Care (PC), family and close people are an essential part of provision of care. They assume highly complex tasks for which they are not prepared, with considerable physical, psychological, social and economic impact. Informal Caregivers (ICs) often falter in the final stage of life and develop distress, enhancing emotional burden and complicated grief. The lack of available and accessible in-person counselling resources is often reported by ICs. Online resources can promote early access to help and support for patient-IC dyads in palliative care. The primary aim of this research is to co-design, develop and test the feasibility of the Help2Care-PAL mHealth app that addresses the needs of ICs of palliative patients cared for at home. This Digital Health Intervention (DHI) in palliative care will be used for education, symptom management, communication and decision-making, to enhance Quality of Life (QoL) of patients and ICs, fostering anticipatory grief and the reach and efficiency of services.MethodsThis study will use an iterative co-design process and convergent mixed-methods design, following the MORECare consensus for developing a complex intervention. Construction of the DHI will follow four main phases: (I) a needs assessment (a cross-sectional survey, individual interviews with ICs and focus groups with professionals with community palliative care experience); (II) design and co-production of mHealth materials and interventions to support ICs; (III) the development of a mHealth app; and (IV) usability and feasibility of the mHealth app. The Help2Care-PAL platform seeks to build resources from the perspectives and needs of both family dyads and nursing professionals working in the field of community palliative care. User-centeredness will be ensured by the active participation of patient-IC dyads and professionals of the palliative care community.DiscussionThis mixed-method study will offer new insights on needs and expectations of patient-IC dyads and nurses in community palliative care regarding caregiving preparedness and online health resources. Through the implementation of an adaptive digital tool, we aim to improve access to palliative care family support, which is highly linked with the wellbeing of patients and especially new ICs.

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Developing a Comprehensive List of Criteria to Evaluate the Characteristics and Quality of eHealth Smartphone Apps: Systematic Review

Ribaut,

DeVito Dabbs,

Dobbels

et al. 2024

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background The field of eHealth is growing rapidly and chaotically. Health care professionals need guidance on reviewing and assessing health-related smartphone apps to propose appropriate ones to their patients. However, to date, no framework or evaluation tool fulfills this purpose. Objective Before developing a tool to help health care professionals assess and recommend apps to their patients, we aimed to create an overview of published criteria to describe and evaluate health apps. Methods We conducted a systematic review to identify existing criteria for eHealth smartphone app evaluation. Relevant databases and trial registers were queried for articles. Articles were included that (1) described tools, guidelines, dimensions, or criteria to evaluate apps, (2) were available in full text, and (3) were written in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. We proposed a conceptual framework for app evaluation based on the dimensions reported in the selected articles. This was revised iteratively in discussion rounds with international stakeholders. The conceptual framework was used to synthesize the reported evaluation criteria. The list of criteria was discussed and refined by the research team. Results Screening of 1258 articles yielded 128 (10.17%) that met the inclusion criteria. Of these 128 articles, 30 (23.4%) reported the use of self-developed criteria and described their development processes incompletely. Although 43 evaluation instruments were used only once, 6 were used in multiple studies. Most articles (83/128, 64.8%) did not report following theoretical guidelines; those that did noted 37 theoretical frameworks. On the basis of the selected articles, we proposed a conceptual framework to explore 6 app evaluation dimensions: context, stakeholder involvement, features and requirements, development processes, implementation, and evaluation. After standardizing the definitions, we identified 205 distinct criteria. Through consensus, the research team relabeled 12 of these and added 11 more—mainly related to ethical, legal, and social aspects—resulting in 216 evaluation criteria. No criteria had to be moved between dimensions. Conclusions This study provides a comprehensive overview of criteria currently used in clinical practice to describe and evaluate apps. This is necessary as no reviewed criteria sets were inclusive, and none included consistent definitions and terminology. Although the resulting overview is impractical for use in clinical practice in its current form, it confirms the need to craft it into a purpose-built, theory-driven tool. Therefore, in a subsequent step, based on our current criteria set, we plan to construct an app evaluation tool with 2 parts: a short section (including 1-3 questions/dimension) to quickly disqualify clearly unsuitable apps and a longer one to investigate more likely candidates in closer detail. We will use a Delphi consensus-building process and develop a user manual to prepare for this undertaking. Trial Registration PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42021227064; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021227064

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Evaluation of an e-health platform for informal caregivers and health professionals: the case study of Help2Care

Cited by 4 publications

References 14 publications

Designing and Evaluating IT Applications for Informal Caregivers: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Designing and Evaluating IT Applications for Informal Caregivers: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Building Bridges for “Palliative Care-in-Place”: Development of a mHealth Intervention for Informal Home Care

Developing a Comprehensive List of Criteria to Evaluate the Characteristics and Quality of eHealth Smartphone Apps: Systematic Review

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