The Development of a Web-Based Application to Support Informal Caregivers of Individuals With Head and Neck Cancer:...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Oncology Support

Background:

• Informal caregivers (ICs) for head and neck cancer patients face significant emotional, practical, and medical challenges.
• Web-based applications show potential for supporting ICs, but long-term adoption requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate Carer eSupport, a web application designed to enhance the well-being and preparedness of informal caregivers.
• To assess the application's ability to meet the functional and psychological needs of ICs.

Main Methods:

• The Carer eSupport application was developed using a human-centered design (HCD) approach across three iterations.
• The development involved informal caregivers, healthcare professionals, and human-computer interaction researchers.
• A multicenter pilot study was conducted across four Swedish university hospitals.

Main Results:

• The current version of Carer eSupport focuses on psychological needs, including competence, autonomy, and social connection.
• The pilot study demonstrated feasibility with a 66.7% consent rate and 75% login success rate.
• Identified challenges included caregiver time constraints, technical issues, and digital literacy gaps.

Conclusions:

• A personalized, interactive application like Carer eSupport can offer valuable support to informal caregivers of head and neck cancer patients.
• Integrating HCD with health care science provides a framework for developing evidence-based and empathetic digital health tools.