The Use of Technology by the Rural-Dwelling Caregivers of People Living With Dementia to Support Caregiving: Qualitative Interview Study.

Background: Family caregivers of people living with dementia who live in rural areas face challenges distinctly different from those experienced by their urban counterparts. Technology is a promising but underused method for delivering interventions to rural caregivers.

Objective: This study aims to describe the technologies used by rural caregivers of people living with dementia, how these caregivers use technology to support caregiving, and the barriers and facilitators they encounter in using technology.

Methods: We conducted online, semistructured interviews with rural caregivers of people living with dementia. The objective of the primary study was to understand how caregivers access support, including the types of support used, strategies used to find support, and any unmet support needs. This study was a secondary analysis focused exclusively on caregivers' technology use. Summative, content, and thematic analyses were used to understand patterns of technology use and the associated facilitators.

Results: A total of 19 caregivers were included in this study, of whom 14 (74%) were female. The average age was 66.4 (SD 10.1) years. The 5 most frequently endorsed technologies were phones for calling (n=19, 100%) and texting (n=14, 74%), websites (n=17, 89%), television and movies (n=15, 79%), and emails (n=13, 68%). Technology provided the following types of support: informational (n=19, 100%), emotional (n=13, 68%), instrumental (n=12, 63%), entertainment (n=10, 53%), safety (n=6, 32%), and caregiver personal health (n=4, 21%). Thematic analysis yielded 4 characteristics of caregivers that facilitated technology use, including access to technology, technological savviness, preference for technology, and having a technology broker. In addition, analyses yielded 4 characteristics of technology that facilitated technology use, including appeal, efficiency, ease of use, and trustworthiness.

Conclusions: All rural caregivers in this study used technology to access caregiving support, which suggests that this population is prepared for remote interventions. Our findings can be used to help determine optimal delivery and content of these interventions and instruct interventionists on caregiver and technology characteristics that may facilitate uptake. Rural caregivers may be receptive to interventions delivered through texts, websites, and videos, particularly those that focus on meeting informational and instrumental needs.