Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul 28:15:58.
doi: 10.1186/s12911-015-0182-2.

Tailored e-Health services for the dementia care setting: a pilot study of 'eHealthMonitor'

Sandra Schaller  1 , Velislava Marinova-Schmidt  2 , Jasmin Gobin  2 , Manfred Criegee-Rieck  3 , Lena Griebel  3 , Sabine Engel  4 , Veronika Stein  4 , Elmar Graessel  5 , Peter L Kolominsky-Rabas  2
Affiliations

Tailored e-Health services for the dementia care setting: a pilot study of 'eHealthMonitor'

Sandra Schaller et al. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. .

Abstract

Background: The European eHealthMonitor project (eHM) developed a user-sensitive and interactive web portal for dementia care: the eHM Dementia Portal (eHM-DP). It aims to provide targeted and personalized support for informal caregivers of people with dementia in a home-based care setting. The objective of the pilot study was to obtain feedback on the eHM-DP from two user perspectives (caregivers and medical professionals), focusing on caregiver empowerment, decision aid, and the perceived benefits of the eHM-DP.

Methods: The study on the eHM-DP was conducted from March 2014 to June 2014. The methodological approach followed a user-participatory design with a total number of 42 participants. The study included caregivers of people with dementia and medical professionals (MPs) from the metropolitan region of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Bavaria, Germany). Study participants were interviewed face-to-face with semi-structured, written interviews.

Results: Caregivers indicated a high degree of perceived support by the eHM-DP and of provided decision aid. In total, 89 % of caregivers and 54 % of MPs would use the eHM-DP if access were provided. The primary benefits participants perceived were the acquisition of individualized information, computerized interaction between caregivers and MPs, empowerment in health-related decisions and comprehensive insights into the progress of the disease. Major recommendations for improving the eHM-DP encompassed: an active search functionality based on predefined terms, the implementation of a chatroom for caregivers, an upload function and alerts for MPs, as well as the overall design.

Conclusions: Our study is the first to have provided new insights and results on an interactive and needs-oriented web portal, endeavouring towards empowerment and assistance in decision making for caregivers as well as MPs within the realm of caring for patients with dementia. The acceptance and willingness to use the eHM-DP emphasizes the potential of eHealth services for community-based dementia care settings.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Illustrative representation of the eHM-DP
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization (WHO). Dementia - a public health priority. Report. 2012.
    1. Zwaanswijk M, Peeters JM, Van Beek AP, Meerveld JH, Francke AL. Informal caregivers of people with dementia: problems, needs and support in the initial stage and in subsequent stages of dementia: a questionnaire survey. Open Nurs J. 2013;7:6–13. doi: 10.2174/1874434601307010006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Black BS, Johnston D, Rabins PV, Morrison A, Lyketsos C, Samus QM. Unmet needs of community-residing persons with dementia and their informal caregivers: findings from the maximizing independence at home study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013;61:2087–95. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12549. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Raivio M, Eloniemi-Sulkava U, Laakkonen ML, Saarenheimo M, Pietila M, Tilvis R, et al. How do officially organized services meet the needs of elderly caregivers and their spouses with Alzheimer’s disease? Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2007;22:360–8. doi: 10.1177/1533317507305178. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gräßel E, Adabbo R. Perceived Burden of Informal Caregivers of a Chronically ill Older Family Member. J GeroPsych Geriatr Psychiatr. 2011;2:143–54.

Publication types