Developing Social Enhancements for a Web-Based, Positive Emotion Intervention for Alzheimer Disease Caregivers: Qualitative Focus Group and Interview Study

Ian Kwok*, Emily Gardiner Lattie, Dershung Yang, Amanda Summers, Paul Cotten, Caroline Alina Leong, Judith Tedlie Moskowitz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer disease is a degenerative neurological condition that requires long-term care. The cost of these responsibilities is often borne by informal caregivers, who experience an elevated risk of negative physical and psychological outcomes. Previously, we designed a positive emotion regulation intervention that was shown to improve well-being among dementia caregivers when delivered through one-on-one videoconferencing lessons with a trained facilitator. However, the format required significant resources in terms of logistics and facilitator time. To broaden the reach of the intervention, we aimed to develop the Social Augmentation of Self-Guided Electronic Delivery of the Life Enhancing Activities for Family Caregivers (SAGE LEAF) program, an iteration of the intervention in a self-guided, web-based format with enhanced opportunities for social connection. Objective: The aim of this study was to gather feedback to inform the design of social features for the SAGE LEAF intervention. In the absence of a facilitator, our goal with the self-guided SAGE LEAF intervention was to integrate various social features (eg, discussion board, automated support, and profiles) to maximize engagement among participants. Methods: Qualitative data were collected from 26 individuals through (1) interviews with participants who completed a previous version of the intervention via videoconferencing with a facilitator, (2) focus groups with dementia caregivers who had not previously experienced the intervention, and (3) focus groups with Alzheimer disease clinical care providers. We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis to identify which social features would be the most helpful and how they could be implemented in a way that would be best received by caregivers. Results: Interview and focus group feedback indicated that participants generally liked the potential features suggested, including the discussion boards, multimedia content, and informational support. They had valuable suggestions for optimal implementation. For example, participants liked the idea of a buddy system where they would be matched up with another caregiver for the duration of the study. However, they expressed concern about differing expectations among caregivers and the possibility of matched caregivers not getting along. Participants also expressed interest in giving caregivers access to a podcast on the skills, which would allow them to review additional content when they wished. Conclusions: Taken together, the discussions with caregivers and providers offered unique insights into the types of social features that may be integrated into the SAGE LEAF intervention, as well as implementation suggestions to improve the acceptability of the features among caregivers. These insights will allow us to design social features for the intervention that are optimally engaging and helpful for caregivers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere50234
JournalJMIR Formative Research
Volume8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Funding

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer\u2019s Disease for their collaboration in this research. This study was supported in part by a Small Business Innovation Research grant (R43AG065080) from the National Institute on Aging to BrightOutcome. In addition, this study was supported in part by an Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Core Center grant (P30 AG013854) from the National Institute on Aging to Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Clinical Core and its participants. Generative artificial intelligence was not used in the writing of this manuscript.

Keywords

  • Alzheimer disease
  • caregiving
  • coping
  • dementia
  • eHealth
  • positive emotion
  • stress
  • web-based interventions

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Health Informatics

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