Design and Pilot-test of an Innovative Mobile-based Intervention to Promote Mental Health of Informal Dementia Caregivers Through User-Centered Design

Detailed Summary

Informal caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) usually experience elevated levels of caregiving burden and potential depression. This project aims to develop and pilot-test a mobile app intervention for informal caregivers of PWD in Singapore. The project will have three phases in total including 1) phase 1 - to develop the app prototype and collect feedback from caregivers via focused group discussions. 2) a pilot RCT with 60 participants in total - 30 will be required to use the app for one month while another 30 will be on a waiting list for one month. and 3) in-depth interviews to seek users' feedback on the app for its future improvements. We hypothesize that the mobile app designed through a user-centered process would lead to high acceptance and high user engagement among local dementia caregivers. The 1-month intervention using the app developed subsequently would lower the reported depressive symptoms among local dementia caregiver. It will also improve their knowledge of dementia, caregiving efficacy, positive coping strategy, perceived positive aspects of caregiver and social support, and their mental well-being; and reduce their caregiving burden, and level of anxiety, compared to the control group.

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Interventions