“A friend during troubled times”: Experiences of family caregivers to persons with dementia when receiving professional support via a mobile app

The number of family members involved in providing care will increase accordingly and supporting them is crucial in order to increase the quality of life of persons with dementia. A meta-analysis focusing on stress and coping for family caregivers to persons with dementia shows that being a family caregiver is a significant risk factor which can lead to decreased physical health and increased psychological stress [6]. Mobile health (mHealth) applications have increased throughout the world and have been developed for a wide variety of health interventions, predominantly as mobile applications (app) for self-care such as for asthma [21] and diabetes [22]. mHealth is defined as “medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants and other wireless devices” [23]. Compared to face-to-face meetings with family caregivers, the technical solutions available in the home provide a tool to connect with care professionals without leaving home. mHealth tools are always available and accessible, and they are especially useful for people living in rural areas because of the distance they may be forced to travel to obtain healthcare services [28]. mHealth-based interventions have emerged as a potential solution to support family caregivers and address some of the challenges related to caregiving.