Factors Associated With Intention to Adopt mHealth Apps Among Dementia Caregivers With a Chronic Condition: Cross-sectional, Correlational Study

Abstract

Background In the United States, nearly 80% of family caregivers of people with dementia have at least one chronic condition. Dementia caregivers experience high stress and burden that adversely affect their health and self-management. mHealth apps can improve health and self-management among dementia caregivers with a chronic condition. However, mHealth app adoption by dementia caregivers is low, and reasons for this are not well understood. Objective The purpose of this study is to explore factors associated with dementia caregivers’ intention to adopt mHealth apps for chronic disease self-management. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional, correlational study and recruited a convenience sample of dementia caregivers. We created a survey using validated instruments and collected data through computer-assisted telephone interviews and web-based surveys. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we recruited dementia caregivers through community-based strategies, such as attending community events. After nationwide closures due to the pandemic, the team focused on web-based recruitment. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to test the relationships between the independent and dependent variables. Results Our sample of 117 caregivers had an average age of 53 (SD 17.4) years, 16 (SD 3.3) years of education, and 4 (SD 2.5) chronic conditions. The caregivers were predominantly women (92/117, 78.6%) and minorities (63/117, 53.8%), experienced some to extreme income difficulties (64/117, 54.7%), and were the child or child-in-law (53/117, 45.3%) of the person with dementia. In logistic regression models adjusting for the control variables, caregiver burden (odds ratio [OR] 1.3, 95% CI 0.57-2.8; P=.57), time spent caregiving per week (OR 1.7, 95% CI 0.77-3.9; P=.18), and burden of chronic disease and treatment (OR 2.3, 95% CI 0.91-5.7; P=.08) were not significantly associated with the intention to adopt mHealth apps. In the final multiple logistic regression model, only perceived usefulness (OR 23, 95% CI 5.6-97; P<.001) and the interaction term for caregivers’ education and burden of chronic disease and treatment (OR 31, 95% CI 2.2-430; P=.01) were significantly associated with their intention to adopt mHealth apps. Perceived ease of use (OR 2.4, 95% CI 0.67-8.7; P=.18) and social influence (OR 1.8, 95% CI 0.58-5.7; P=.31) were not significantly associated with the intention to adopt mHealth apps. Conclusions When designing mHealth app interventions for dementia caregivers with a chronic condition, it is important to consider caregivers’ perceptions about how well mHealth apps can help their self-management and which app features would be most useful for self-management. Caregiving factors may not be relevant to caregivers’ intention to adopt mHealth apps. This is promising because mHealth strategies may overcome barriers to caregivers’ self-management. Future research should investigate reasons why caregivers with a low education level and low burden of chronic disease and treatment have significantly lower intention to adopt mHealth apps for self-management.

Quality of Mobile Apps for Care Partners of People With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias: Mobile App Rating Scale Evaluation

“…For example, recent research found that when care partners search for information and cannot meet the information need at that time, they often abandon the information behavior [ 18 ]. Furthermore, low-quality information is likely to reduce perceived usefulness, which has been shown to be a key factor influencing caregivers’ intention to adopt mobile health apps [ 56 ]. Lower scores on information are also concerning, as this score reflects that apps are often not tested for effectiveness in improving people living with ADRD or care partner outcomes, reducing the ability to safeguard against products that may not deliver on their advertised potential.…”

Effect of Psychological First Aid Program on Stress Level and Psychological Well-Being Among Caregivers of Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease

“…A study was done by Tulek et al, 2020 on caregiver burden, quality of life, and related factors in family caregivers of dementia patients in Turkey found that about 60% of the studied caregivers suffer from chronic illness (49) . Also, another study was done by Mendez et al, (2021) reported that about 47% of the caregivers of patients with dementia suffer from hypertension and about 20% have diabetes mellitus (34) .…”

Effect of psychological first aid program on stress level and psychological well-being among caregivers of older adults with alzheimer’s disease

“…A study by Tulek et al, 2020 on burden, quality of life, and related factors in family caregivers of dementia patients in Turkey found that approximately 60% of the studied caregivers suffered from chronic illness [ 52 ]. Additionally, another study performed by Mendez et al (2021) reported that approximately 47% of the caregivers of patients with dementia suffer from hypertension and approximately 20% have diabetes mellitus [ 53 ].…”