Assessing BESI mobile application usability for caregivers of persons with dementia

Introduction: This study investigates the usability of an application developed for the Behavioral and Environmental Sensing and Intervention for Dementia Caregiver Empowerment (BESI) study to gather real-time data from caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD). We demonstrate that older adults are willing to try out technology for use in a research setting. This research project ultimately strives to use technology not just in the research setting, but as a tool to support caregivers within their own contexts. Methods: The System Usability Scale (SUS) was administered to 30 caregivers in dementia caregiver support groups after participants had completed 5 tasks on a tablet device with Android-based functionality. Revisions were made to the application, such as streamlining the process, eliminating extraneous features, and implementing clock tools. A second phase of SUS testing with a revised BESI app was completed with 15 caregivers. With subsequent BESI deployments, usability data continues to be collected to maximize usability for our target population. Results: Thirteen phase 1 respondents scored the application over 70/100 on the SUS, which is the suggested threshold for usability. Eleven phase 2 respondents rated the application 70 and above. A Chi-squared test (X^2(1, N=45) = 3.62, p = 0.0572) and an Independent Samples t-test (t(43)= -1.84, p= 0.0731) were not statistically significant but showed trends toward improvement from phase 1 to phase 2 that may have been significant with a larger sample size. Phase 2 SUS data had 73.3% of users rating the application usable versus 43.3% in phase 1 and the mean SUS score increased 10.75 points. Conclusions: We conclude that the revised BESI application will be a viable tool for the BESI project. This study also contributes to the rising field of mHealth, particularly regarding its use in an older population.