Coproduction of a Theory-Based Digital Resource for Unpaid Carers (The Care Companion): Mixed-Methods Study

Family and other unpaid carers are crucial to supporting the growing population of older people that are living outside residential care with frailty and comorbidities. The burden associated with caring affects carers' well-being, thus limiting the sustainability of such care. There is a need for accessible, flexible, and responsive interventions that promote carers' coping and resilience, and hence support maintenance of the health, well-being, and independence of the cared-for person.

This study aimed to coproduce a digital program for carers to promote resilience and coping through supporting effective use of information and other Web-based resources. Its overlapping stages comprised the following: understanding the ways in which Web-based interventions may address challenges faced by carers, identifying target behaviors for the intervention, identifying intervention components, and developing the intervention prototype.

The study was informed by person-based theories of coproduction and involved substantial patient and public involvement. It drew on the Behavior Change Wheel framework to support a systematic focus on behavioral issues relevant to caring. It comprised scoping literature reviews, interviews, and focus groups with carers and organizational stakeholders, and an agile, lean approach to information technology development. Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic approach.

Four behavioral challenges were identified: burden of care, lack of knowledge, self-efficacy, and lack of time. Local health and social care services for carers were only being accessed by a minority of carers. Carers appreciated the potential value of Web-based resources but described difficulty identifying reliable information at times of need. Key aspects of behavior change relevant to addressing these challenges were education (increasing knowledge and understanding), enablement (increasing means and reducing barriers for undertaking caring roles), and persuasion (changing beliefs and encouraging action toward active use of the intervention). In collaboration with carers, this was used to define requirements for the program. A resources library was created to link to websites, Web-based guidance, videos, and other material that addressed condition-specific and generic information. Each resource was classified according to a taxonomy itemizing over 30 different subcategories of need under the headings Care Needs (of the cared-for person), General Information and Advice, and Sustaining the Carer. In addition, features such as a journal and mood monitor were incorporated to address other enablement challenges. The need for proactive, personalized prompts emerged; the program regularly prompts the carer to revisit and update their profile, which, together with their previous use of the intervention, drives notifications about resources and actions that may be of value.

The person-based approach allowed an in-depth understanding of the biopsychosocial context of caring to inform the production of an engaging, relevant, applicable, and feasible Web-based intervention. User acceptance and feasibility testing is currently underway.