TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bosch, Lilian
AU  - Kanis, Marije
AU  - Dunn, Julia
AU  - Stewart, Kearsley A
AU  - Kröse, Ben
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/05/28
TI  - How Is the Caregiver Doing? Capturing Caregivers’ Experiences With a Reflective Toolkit
JO  - JMIR Ment Health
SP  - e13688
VL  - 6
IS  - 5
KW  - human-centered design
KW  - informal caregivers
KW  - experience sampling
KW  - home care
KW  - positive psychology
KW  - mental health
KW  - reflective technologies
KW  - well-being
KW  - HCI (human computer interaction)
AB  - Background: This paper describes the Co-Care-KIT, a reflective toolkit designed to provide insights into the diverse experiences of home-based informal caregivers during the delivery of care to a relative or loved one. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the toolkit, including a custom-designed journal, tools for photography-based experience sampling, and heart rate tracking, which enables caregivers to collect and reflect on their positive and negative daily experiences in situ. Methods: A 2-week field study with informal caregivers (N=7) was conducted to evaluate the Co-Care-KIT and to capture their daily personal emotional experiences. The collected data samples were analyzed and used for collaborative dialogue between the researcher and caregiver. Results: The results suggest that the toolkit (1) increased caregivers’ awareness of their own well-being through in situ reflection on their experiences; (2) empowered caregivers to share their identities and experiences as a caregiver within their social networks; (3) enabled the capturing of particularly positive experiences; and (4) provided caregivers reassurance with regards to their own mental health. Conclusion: By enabling capturing and collaborative reflection, the kit helped to gain a new understanding of caregivers’ day-to-day needs and emotional experiences. 
SN  - 2368-7959
UR  - http://mental.jmir.org/2019/5/e13688/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/13688
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31140435
DO  - 10.2196/13688
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/13688
ER  -