Abstract
BACKGROUND: Because of the constantly aging population and the number of people suffering from chronic illnesses in old age, the number of family caregivers and their role in care provision is increasing. Most of these people are acting without any prior experience in the care sector, have a limited understanding of the healthcare system and carry out the tasks alongside the demands of their own day to day lives. Technical support solutions such as the Liv app (developed in the project münster.land.leben) are therefore gaining traction.The objective of the Liv app is to improve the digital healthcare expertise of the vulnerable group of family caregivers in Germany. OBJECTIVE OF THE PAPER RESEARCH QUESTION: The goal of this study was to test the prototype of the Liv app and refine the concept with the participation of family caregivers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Qualitative online interviews were conducted with 10 family caregivers with the aid of a prototype of the app and evaluated using a structured, qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: The family caregivers rated the layout and the simplicity of the features as positive overall. As a condition for them to use the app, the interviewees stressed its ease of use and the quantity of documentation provided. Suggestions for enhancements were related to specifying activities, including additional forms of communication, reminders and confirmation, providing links to more information, integrating the app into other digital systems and enabling important documents to be saved. DISCUSSION: From the perspective of those affected, the app meets a huge unserved need. Based on the interviewees' suggestions six enhancements to the app are under discussion. To avoid cluttering up the app, their usefulness needs to be tested in another study.