Technology to Support Informal Caregivers: Matching the Tools to the Needs from a Sex and Gender Perspective

Caregiving can be highly stressful and associated with poor mental and physical health. Technologies, including mobile and e-health applications, have been developed to address caregiver needs. Yet, although caregiving is a gendered activity, sex and gender considerations have not been incorporated systematically in understanding caregiving experiences and the design of these technologies. As such, this thesis aims to develop a tool to assist in the development of technology interventions to support caregiving by (1) synthesizing evidence on sex and gender distinctions in caregiving experiences and its physical and mental health impacts on informal caregivers, (2) examining caregiver’s knowledge, use, perceived usefulness and feature preferences of technology, and (3) exploring sex and gender influences on technology use and perceptions amongst informal caregivers. Findings from each objective are used to inform tool development. The thesis was based on three studies. The first study, a systematic review on sex and gender distinctions in caregiving experiences and its impact on informal caregivers’ physical and mental well-being, found 13 studies reporting higher caregiving burden among female caregivers. Results from the second study, a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey on technology needs and preferences of informal caregivers, revealed that most caregivers did not know much and had never used any technologies to assist with caregiving. Female respondents were more likely to have more knowledge about technology for caregiving while male respondents were more willing to pay higher amounts for these technologies. Findings from the third study involving semi-structured interviews with informal caregivers and technology researchers, highlighted the multi-faceted role technology can play in aiding caregiving, while at the same time draw attention to the pitfalls and drawbacks of these technologies perceived by caregivers. Together, the findings lead to the creation of the CareDATA (Caregiving Diversity and Technology Assessment) tool. It provides key considerations for incorporating sex, gender and diversity when developing technologies for caregiving. Overall, this thesis highlighted the complexities of sex, gender and diversity within the field of both caregiving experiences and technologies and represents a robust step towards the realization of more tailored technological solutions to support informal caregivers.Ph.D.2021-12-29 00:00:0