New program reduces burnout in dementia caregivers, novel research evaluation proves
Digital health promotion program for Chinese American dementia caregivers is easy to use for all literacy levels and increases social supports
George Mason University
As the old saying goes, you cannot pour from an empty cup. To give time and energy to others, it is vital to attend to one’s own well-being. As the U.S. population ages, there is a growing demand for tools that support the over 19 million people who serve as caregivers of family members with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD). Family caregivers of individuals with ADRD are vulnerable to poor mental and physical health due to long-term, strenuous caregiving and lack of support.
A novel process (i.e., delivery and functionality) evaluation developed by Kang Shen, PhD health services research student at George Mason’s College of Public Health, establishes that user-friendly digital interventions are the solution. WECARE 2.0, a culturally-tailored digital health program, is proof as it has enhanced caregivers’ physical and mental health.
“WECARE’s approach—combining cultural relevance with an accessible, widely-used technology app—proved to be highly effective and well-accepted by users. High user satisfaction, participant retention, and significant improvements in caregiving skills and positive aspects of caregiving all point to WECARE’s promising early results,” said Shen, a first-generation student.
The study, Process evaluation of a digital health intervention for dementia caregivers: Integrating active and passive measurements, was published in September 2025 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the premier journal of the Alzheimer’s Association and the leading journal in the field.
Participants became more knowledgeable about ADRD, learned problem-solving strategies, improved their personal caregiving skills, reduced stress, increased social support, while being user-friendly.
“This program [WECARE] is so good, easy to understand, even for a 70-year-old. I don’t like reading text and can play the recording instead. I like your how-to videos; I can open them whenever I want and watch them multiple times,” one program participant shared.
WECARE, which was originally designed by Y. Alicia Hong, a Department of Health Administration professor and digital technologies intervention researcher and specialist, was delivered through the social media app WeChat. Through the platform, researchers provide easily accessible educational articles and videos, tips on practicing self-care, and opportunities for social connection with other caregivers.
Innovative Evaluation Methods
Shen’s process evaluation of WECARE 2.0 is the first to employ multiple—qualitative and quantitative—data collection methods. With data from surveys, interviews, self-reported reviews, and website engagement, Shen measured how often participants opened the app and its accompanying resources, how long they spent using the resources, and feedback of the program at the intervention’s conclusion.
Shen’s approach also highlights the importance of creating tools that do not simply exist but are observable to implementers for timely improvement. Unlike previous evaluative methods, her use of short surveys (active measurement) and tracking user activities on the backend (passive measurement) offers program developers comprehensive insight into what works, what doesn’t work, and why throughout the intervention process.
This innovative process evaluation method can facilitate developing more effective digital health interventions for underserved dementia caregivers. Results are being integrated into the next version of WECARE and can inspire future interventions.
“This study serves as a framework for creating and evaluating digital health tools that are culturally grounded and genuinely accessible for diverse, underserved caregiving communities. Our goal is to inspire a shift toward more inclusive and effective support systems that meet caregivers where they are, leveraging familiar technologies to overcome access barriers,” said Shen.
Shen also earned her master of science and bachelor of science in Health Informatics at George Mason. Her research was supported by Hong. Additional co-authors include Yixuan (Janice) Zhang from the College of William and Mary Department of Computer Science, Hae-Ra Han from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Jessica Lin from the George Mason University Department of Computer Science, and Kenneth Hepburn from the Emory University School of Nursing.
Journal
Alzheimer s & Dementia
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Process evaluation of a digital health intervention for dementia caregivers: Integrating active and passive measurements
Friendships can ease loneliness for dementia caregivers
University of Michigan
Daily interactions with friends, even through something as simple as a text message, may reduce momentary loneliness for caregivers tending to a family member with dementia.
Providing care for a loved one with dementia can be a difficult burden to bear, and caregivers can be especially vulnerable to loneliness. But social interactions, no matter how small, with friends and other family members can lower feelings of loneliness.
Crystal Ng, a research fellow at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, and colleagues studied 223 dementia caregivers, who reported their social interactions and loneliness every three hours over five days—showing that when caregivers interacted with friends, they also reported lower levels of loneliness.
The study, which appears in the Journal of Gerontology, was supported by the National Institute on Aging and the Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging.
"We found that caregivers reported having interactions with friends in more than 20% of their waking survey prompts," Ng said. "And these interactions, particularly positive ones, even with not-so-close friends, are related to lower momentary loneliness in daily life."
According to Ng, the effect was particularly pronounced among caregivers with particularly difficult care responsibilities, or "high-burden" caregivers.
"Interacting with friends appears to be particularly important for high-burden caregivers, and that could be the case because higher-burden caregivers are more at risk of being socially isolated and feeling lonely," she said.
Previous studies have asked caregivers to rate their loneliness over a period in the past, perhaps a week or a month, but, according to Ng, a more in-the-moment approach to data collection provides a more dynamic and accurate picture.
"This study captured the dynamic fluctuations of loneliness," she said. "We are not treating loneliness as a personality trait, but as something that fluctuates throughout the day.
"Sending a text to a friend or making the time to get in touch with them can make caregivers feel less lonely and foster a sense of connection amid the burden of dementia. Interventions that encourage caregivers to schedule social interactions with friends in daily life can give them a much-needed emotional lift."
U-M co-authors include: Angela Turkelson, Anna Kratz and Kira Birditt.
Written by Jon Meerdink
Journal
Journal of Gerontology
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