Abstract
Launched on 25 October 2018, the Dementia Friends app was co-developed by the Agency for Integrated Care, Nanyang Polytechnic and Integrated Health Information Systems to mobilise community resources that support caregivers in need. Studies have shown that interventions through mobile technologies have the potential to address caregivers’ demands and needs. However, current literature on the use and effectiveness of mobile technologies for caregiving of persons with dementia (PWD) is lacking in Singapore. Thus, this research study is conducted to examine the use and effectiveness of the Dementia Friends app for caregivers of PWD. It included an online survey, which was taken by 69 local caregivers, to investigate caregivers’ awareness of the availability of information and support services, their perceptions of existing app features, barriers to use and the information and support services, and the features they most want for their caregiving journeys. This study also explored prototyping potential mobile solutions and testing the usability for targeted information and support services with design thinking. The combination of survey findings and prototyping outcomes promotes the need for a systems approach towards supporting the families/ households of PWD.