The role of technology in supporting family caregivers

Abstract

In the United States and in many other countries, family members represent the primary source of support for older adults with a chronic disease or disability. While caregiving is associated with positive outcomes such as personal growth or the sense of helping someone in need, evidence has shown that caring for a relative/friend with an illness or disability causes distress in family caregivers and compromises their health and survival. Thus, there have been many intervention programs designed to aid family caregivers and many of these programs have proven beneficial in terms of alleviating caregiver burden and distress. Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness of the existence of these programs or logistic problems accessing these programs, many caregivers do not take advantage of or receive the benefits of evidenced-based interventions. This paper will discuss and demonstrate with examples from our research, how Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) can support family caregivers.