Abstract
BackgroundInformal caregivers express strong interest in technology innovations to help them in their caregiving role; however, divides across sociodemographic characteristics in internet and technology access may preclude the most vulnerable caregivers from accessing such resources.ObjectiveThis study aims to examine caregivers’ internet use, both generally and for seeking health-related information, and whether usage differs as a function of caregivers’ characteristics.MethodsData were analyzed from the Health Information National Trends Survey 5 Cycle 1. Participants were included in analyses if they self-identified as providing uncompensated care to a close individual. Caregivers reported internet use factors, age, education, rurality, general health, distress, and objective caregiving burden. We used chi-square tests of independence with jackknife variance estimation to compare whether internet use factors differed by caregivers’ characteristics.ResultsA total of 77.5% (303/391) caregivers surveyed reported ever using the internet. Of internet users, 88.1% (267/303) accessed from a home computer and 83.2% (252/303) from a mobile device. Most caregivers accessed health information for themselves (286/391, 73.1%) or others (264/391, 67.5%); fewer communicated with a doctor over the Web (148/391, 37.9%) or had a wellness app (171/391, 43.7%). Caregivers reporting younger age, more education, and good health were more likely to endorse any of these activities. Furthermore, two-thirds of caregivers (258/391, 66.0%) endorsed trust in health information from the internet.ConclusionsComputers and mobile devices are practical platforms for disseminating caregiving-related information and supportive services to informal caregivers; these modalities may, however, have a more limited reach to caregivers who are older, have less education, and are in poorer health.
Highlights
Over 42 million Americans provided unpaid care to a loved one with serious illness in 2015 [1]; these informal caregivers provide practical, medical, and emotional assistance to people with illness, often with little preparation [2,3] and risking the decline of their own mental and physical health [4,5,6,7]
[33] Version 5, Cycle 1, a nationally representative survey of civilian, noninstitutionalized adults aged ≥18 years in the United States. This survey is conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and assesses Americans’ access to and use of health information
Using data from a US nationally representative survey, this paper presents novel evidence regarding how internet use, both generally and for accessing health-related information, differs among informal caregivers according to certain key sociodemographic, health, and caregiving-related factors
Summary
Over 42 million Americans provided unpaid care to a loved one with serious illness in 2015 [1]; these informal caregivers provide practical, medical, and emotional assistance to people with illness, often with little preparation [2,3] and risking the decline of their own mental and physical health [4,5,6,7]. Americans aged ≥65 years, with high school education or less, and living in rural areas are both less likely to report home internet access or own a smartphone [15] and more likely to experience poor health outcomes from caregiving [17,18,19]. These disparities suggest that some of the most vulnerable caregivers may be least likely to benefit from internet- and technology-delivered resources, warranting further investigation. Informal caregivers express strong interest in technology innovations to help them in their caregiving role; divides across sociodemographic characteristics in internet and technology access may preclude the most vulnerable caregivers from accessing such resources
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