Technology and service usage among family caregivers

Abstract

Family caregivers often assist their care recipients with a wide variety of activities ranging from basic personal care to transportation, medication management, finances and more. Furthermore, many caregivers live apart from the loved ones that they provide care to, and have responsibilities outside of caregiving including work and family. Use of technologies and services designed to make life easier for the general population can also be leveraged to reduce the burden and stress related with caregiving. In this study, 30 family caregivers were surveyed in depth to learn about their experiences with various technologies and services. Questions covered caregivers’ use of technologies and services, perceived usefulness and ease of use, reasons for use and non-use, and ideas for new and improved tools. Many caregivers were currently using a technology or service for caregiving, but most of the technologies and services presented in the questionnaire were only used by a limited number of participants. While usage was limited, those that currently used technologies and services generally found them helpful for making caregiving duties easier. Responses showed that technologies and services were not being widely used mainly due to limited awareness and availability, and less because of lack of interest.