Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study

Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Aging

10.2196/78759

https://doi.org/10.2196/78759

Chetna Malhotra, Yanzhen Yue, Chandrika Ramakrishnan, Shimoni Shah, Wenda Chen, Philip Yap, Chin Yee Cheong, Irene Teo, Shiou-Liang Wee, Xiangming Lan, Yi Chen, Chee Seng Chong, Xueying Huang, Ivy Chua

Dementia, caregiving, user-centered design, multicomponent, mobile app, usability, acceptability, artificial intelligence chatbot, AI chatbot

30 December 2025

Malhotra, C., Yue, Y., Ramakrishnan, C., Shah, S., Chen, W., Yap, P., Cheong, C. Y., Teo, I., Wee, S.-L., Lan, X., Chen, Y., Chong, C. S., Huang, X., & Chua, I. (2025). Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Aging, 8, e78759–e78759. https://doi.org/10.2196/78759

Abstract Background Dementia presents substantial challenges for informal caregivers. A gap remains in technology-driven personalized support tailored to caregivers’ needs. Objective This study aimed to develop a theory-driven, multicomponent mobile app specifically designed for caregivers of individuals with dementia and test its usability among end users. Methods We developed CareBuddy , a mobile care ecosystem based on the stress process model and user-centered design. The app includes personalized assessments and tailored solutions, an artificial intelligence–driven chatbot, GPS-based location monitoring, peer support, a helpline, telemedicine, health care provider integration, and caregiver self-care resources. Development was informed by interviews with caregivers and stakeholders, followed by a 2-phase pilot test involving 18 and 10 participants, respectively, to assess usability and acceptability. Results In phase 1, the mean system usability scores increased from 65.4 (SD 11.8) in round 1 to 73.8 (SD 15.9) in round 3, exceeding the benchmark of 68. In phase 2, caregivers rated the app highly, with an overall mean score of 95.4 (SD 8.5) on the Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire. The domains of ease of use (mean 24.1, SD 2.9), user interface and satisfaction (mean 40.3, SD 3.4), and usefulness (mean 31, SD 3.9) received high Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire ratings. Participants valued the content focused on dementia management and caregiver well-being. Caregivers appreciated the interactive features: social networking portal, service directory, and conversational large language model. Feedback highlighted areas for improvement, including reducing textual overload and addressing navigational challenges. Conclusions CareBuddy offers a multifaceted digital solution for dementia caregivers, with high usability and satisfaction. An ongoing trial is evaluating the app’s effectiveness in improving caregiver outcomes.

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the National Medical Research Council - National Innovation Challenge on Active and Confident Ageing (NIC on Ageing) Phase 1B
Grant Reference no. : MOH-001065

© Chetna Malhotra, Yanzhen Yue, Chandrika Ramakrishnan, Shimoni Shah, Wenda Chen, Philip Yap, Chin Yee Cheong, Irene Teo, Shiou-Liang Wee, Xiangming Lan, Yi Chen, Chee Seng Chong, Xueying Huang, Ivy Chua. Originally published in JMIR Aging (https://aging.jmir.org), 30.Dec.2025. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Aging, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://aging.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/23447

2561-7605

Institute of High Performance Computing 

https://doi.org/10.2196/78759