A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy
BackgroundChinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia experience high rates of psychosocial distress and adverse health outcomes. Due to their immigrant and minority status, they face substantial obstacles to care and support, including stigma and misperceptio...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-04-01
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| Series: | JMIR Aging |
| Online Access: | https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e42972 |
| _version_ | 1797734235979644928 |
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| author | Y Alicia Hong Kang Shen Hae-Ra Han Van Ta Park Pramita Bagchi Huixing Kate Lu Hsiaoyin Chen Judy Huei-yu Wang |
| author_facet | Y Alicia Hong Kang Shen Hae-Ra Han Van Ta Park Pramita Bagchi Huixing Kate Lu Hsiaoyin Chen Judy Huei-yu Wang |
| author_sort | Y Alicia Hong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundChinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia experience high rates of psychosocial distress and adverse health outcomes. Due to their immigrant and minority status, they face substantial obstacles to care and support, including stigma and misperception of dementia, limited knowledge and use of welfare and services, and poor social support. Few interventions have been developed or tested for this vulnerable population.
ObjectiveThis study aims to pilot-test the Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE) intervention, a culturally tailored program delivered via WeChat, a social media app highly popular in the Chinese population. The 7-week WECARE was designed specifically for Chinese American dementia caregivers to improve their caregiving skills, reduce stress, and enhance psychosocial well-being. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the WECARE were assessed in this pilot.
MethodsA total of 24 Chinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia were recruited for a pre-post 1-arm trial of the WECARE. By subscribing to the WECARE official account, participants received interactive multimedia programs on their WeChat account multiple times a week for 7 weeks. A backend database automatically delivered program components and tracked user activities. Three online group meetings were organized to facilitate social networking. Participants completed a baseline and a follow-up survey. Feasibility was assessed by the follow-up rate and curriculum completion rate; acceptability was assessed by user satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the program; and efficacy was assessed with pre-post differences in 2 primary outcomes of depressive symptoms and caregiving burden.
ResultsThe intervention was completed by 23 participants with a retention rate of 96%. Most of them (n=20, 83%) were older than 50 years and the majority (n=17, 71%) were female. The backend database revealed that the mean curriculum completion rate was 67%. Participants also reported high rates of user satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the intervention and high ratings of weekly programs. The intervention led to significant improvement in participants’ psychosocial health outcomes; their depressive symptoms reduced from 5.74 to 3.35 with an effect size of −0.89 and caregiving burden decreased from 25.78 to 21.96 with an effect size of −0.48.
ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that WeChat-based WECARE intervention was feasible and acceptable; it also demonstrated initial efficacy in improving psychosocial well-being in Chinese American dementia caregivers. Further research with a control group is needed to assess its efficacy and effectiveness. The study highlights the need for more culturally appropriate mobile health interventions for Chinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:41:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-66c46195251f48c087e1e389d2741c52 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-7605 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:41:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Aging |
| spelling | doaj.art-66c46195251f48c087e1e389d2741c522023-08-28T23:50:54ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Aging2561-76052023-04-016e4297210.2196/42972A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary EfficacyY Alicia Honghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1481-6495Kang Shenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7216-3640Hae-Ra Hanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9419-594XVan Ta Parkhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5020-0359Pramita Bagchihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-2767Huixing Kate Luhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5738-0345Hsiaoyin Chenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5666-2076Judy Huei-yu Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7341-2637 BackgroundChinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia experience high rates of psychosocial distress and adverse health outcomes. Due to their immigrant and minority status, they face substantial obstacles to care and support, including stigma and misperception of dementia, limited knowledge and use of welfare and services, and poor social support. Few interventions have been developed or tested for this vulnerable population. ObjectiveThis study aims to pilot-test the Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE) intervention, a culturally tailored program delivered via WeChat, a social media app highly popular in the Chinese population. The 7-week WECARE was designed specifically for Chinese American dementia caregivers to improve their caregiving skills, reduce stress, and enhance psychosocial well-being. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the WECARE were assessed in this pilot. MethodsA total of 24 Chinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia were recruited for a pre-post 1-arm trial of the WECARE. By subscribing to the WECARE official account, participants received interactive multimedia programs on their WeChat account multiple times a week for 7 weeks. A backend database automatically delivered program components and tracked user activities. Three online group meetings were organized to facilitate social networking. Participants completed a baseline and a follow-up survey. Feasibility was assessed by the follow-up rate and curriculum completion rate; acceptability was assessed by user satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the program; and efficacy was assessed with pre-post differences in 2 primary outcomes of depressive symptoms and caregiving burden. ResultsThe intervention was completed by 23 participants with a retention rate of 96%. Most of them (n=20, 83%) were older than 50 years and the majority (n=17, 71%) were female. The backend database revealed that the mean curriculum completion rate was 67%. Participants also reported high rates of user satisfaction and perceived usefulness of the intervention and high ratings of weekly programs. The intervention led to significant improvement in participants’ psychosocial health outcomes; their depressive symptoms reduced from 5.74 to 3.35 with an effect size of −0.89 and caregiving burden decreased from 25.78 to 21.96 with an effect size of −0.48. ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that WeChat-based WECARE intervention was feasible and acceptable; it also demonstrated initial efficacy in improving psychosocial well-being in Chinese American dementia caregivers. Further research with a control group is needed to assess its efficacy and effectiveness. The study highlights the need for more culturally appropriate mobile health interventions for Chinese American family caregivers of persons with dementia.https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e42972 |
| spellingShingle | Y Alicia Hong Kang Shen Hae-Ra Han Van Ta Park Pramita Bagchi Huixing Kate Lu Hsiaoyin Chen Judy Huei-yu Wang A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy JMIR Aging |
| title | A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy |
| title_full | A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy |
| title_fullStr | A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy |
| title_short | A WeChat-based Intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), for Chinese American Dementia Caregivers: Pilot Assessment of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy |
| title_sort | wechat based intervention wellness enhancement for caregivers wecare for chinese american dementia caregivers pilot assessment of feasibility acceptability and preliminary efficacy |
| url | https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e42972 |
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