Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review
Aim: Informal caregivers have an important role in bridging the gap between the assistance care recipients need and what can be provided by the health care systems across Europe. The burden of the caregiving role places a significant threat to caregiver health, and the vast majority of caregiver...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00128/full |
| _version_ | 1818134174964383744 |
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| author | Milica Petrovic Andrea Gaggioli Andrea Gaggioli |
| author_facet | Milica Petrovic Andrea Gaggioli Andrea Gaggioli |
| author_sort | Milica Petrovic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aim: Informal caregivers have an important role in bridging the gap between the assistance care recipients need and what can be provided by the health care systems across Europe. The burden of the caregiving role places a significant threat to caregiver health, and the vast majority of caregiver's report stress and emotional strain, depression, and increased rates of chronic diseases. In line with this, strengthening the caregiver's mental health is one of the main goals for optimal caregiving. Caregivers already struggle with the demand of their role while coping with health problems, social, family, and work obligations. The solution for the caregiver's mental health needs to be accessible, low cost, and time-effective. This scoping review investigates digital mental health tools available as a mean of supporting the mental health of caregivers.Method: Databases searched include Summon search box, the Cochrane Library, and PubMed. Three groups of keywords were combined: relating to digital mental health interventions for caregivers, digital mental health interventions and stress in elderly care, and digital mental health interventions and burden in elderly care.Results: Caregivers reported that digital mental health tools have an overall positive role in their health. Coping skills, emotion regulation, skill building, and education are found to be important aspects of digital mental health tools. There was a noted lack of digital mental health apps available specifically for the caregiver of older adults. Furthermore, the digital mental health tools, divided into three categories in this review, focused either on building skills or educating caregivers and assisting with the duties rather than the mental health of the caregiver itself. As repeatedly suggested in the reviewed studies, digital mental health interventions overall contribute to reducing the caregiver burden with a limitation of addressing one aspect of caregiver needs –i.e., specific coping skills or education regarding illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease and Dementia. The lack of all-encompassing, data and theory-driven digital mental health tools for addressing and supporting the caregiver's mental health is evident. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:04:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-736fe7fbb04745cab44fe5f42025d248 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:04:26Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-736fe7fbb04745cab44fe5f42025d2482022-12-22T01:13:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652020-04-01810.3389/fpubh.2020.00128517222Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping ReviewMilica Petrovic0Andrea Gaggioli1Andrea Gaggioli2Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan, ItalyApplied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, Istituto Auxologico Italiano (IRCCS), Milan, ItalyAim: Informal caregivers have an important role in bridging the gap between the assistance care recipients need and what can be provided by the health care systems across Europe. The burden of the caregiving role places a significant threat to caregiver health, and the vast majority of caregiver's report stress and emotional strain, depression, and increased rates of chronic diseases. In line with this, strengthening the caregiver's mental health is one of the main goals for optimal caregiving. Caregivers already struggle with the demand of their role while coping with health problems, social, family, and work obligations. The solution for the caregiver's mental health needs to be accessible, low cost, and time-effective. This scoping review investigates digital mental health tools available as a mean of supporting the mental health of caregivers.Method: Databases searched include Summon search box, the Cochrane Library, and PubMed. Three groups of keywords were combined: relating to digital mental health interventions for caregivers, digital mental health interventions and stress in elderly care, and digital mental health interventions and burden in elderly care.Results: Caregivers reported that digital mental health tools have an overall positive role in their health. Coping skills, emotion regulation, skill building, and education are found to be important aspects of digital mental health tools. There was a noted lack of digital mental health apps available specifically for the caregiver of older adults. Furthermore, the digital mental health tools, divided into three categories in this review, focused either on building skills or educating caregivers and assisting with the duties rather than the mental health of the caregiver itself. As repeatedly suggested in the reviewed studies, digital mental health interventions overall contribute to reducing the caregiver burden with a limitation of addressing one aspect of caregiver needs –i.e., specific coping skills or education regarding illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease and Dementia. The lack of all-encompassing, data and theory-driven digital mental health tools for addressing and supporting the caregiver's mental health is evident.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00128/fulldigital mental health interventionscaregiversstressburdenelderly care |
| spellingShingle | Milica Petrovic Andrea Gaggioli Andrea Gaggioli Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review Frontiers in Public Health digital mental health interventions caregivers stress burden elderly care |
| title | Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review |
| title_full | Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review |
| title_fullStr | Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review |
| title_short | Digital Mental Health Tools for Caregivers of Older Adults—A Scoping Review |
| title_sort | digital mental health tools for caregivers of older adults a scoping review |
| topic | digital mental health interventions caregivers stress burden elderly care |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00128/full |
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