Help2care: ehealth strategies for self care of users and caregivers based on Nightingale’s work

ABSTRACT Objective: To report the experience of design and implementation of the Help2Care (an ehealth program that aims to support informal caregivers of dependent people); and to identify its structure and functionality. Methods: This is a Portuguese experience report about Help2Care, a practice-based action research project carried out between 2017 and 2019, having as a guiding axis Florence Nightingale’s concepts about the relevance of the home-care environment. Results: The Help2Care program revealed itself to be a valuable support tool for providing better healthcare learning, counselling, and assistance of the informal caregivers of dependent people. Different ehealth strategies were used to empower caregivers in self-care in order to have a safe transition between contexts of care at the time of patient discharge. Conclusion: Help2Care allows to inspire other ways of providing care, as well as a reduction in the readmission rate in health organizations for patients who reveal poor care support in home environments.