Home › Research › Caregiving
Impact of assistive technologies on caregiver burden and perseverance for people with dementia at home
Gabriele Bagnasco, Job N. A. van Exel. Health Policy and Technology, 2025-11-20
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
• AT use was limited and AT type used varied by caregiver living arrangement. • Most used ATs: daily living support and risk prevention; risk response least used. • Daily living support ATs linked to fewer care hours. • Risk prevention ATs tied to longer PT, higher CarerQol-7D, and lower SRB scores. • Daily support and risk response ATs most likely to extend PT by over six months. This study examines the relationship between the use of assistive technologies and the burden and perseverance time of informal caregivers of community-dwelling people with dementia. An online survey of 342 informal caregivers in the Netherlands assessed objective burden (tasks and time involved in caregiving), subjective burden (personal experience of stress and strain), current perseverance time (time expected to be able to continue providing care), and well-being (overall happiness). Data included demographics, housing, neighbourhood characteristics, assistive technology use, and preferences for additional technologies. Multiple logistic regressions examined associations between assistive technology categories and caregiver outcomes (i.e., below-median weekly caregiving hours, Self-Rated Burden score; above-median CarerQol-7D score, CarerQol-VAS score, and Current Perseverance Time in months). Furthermore, multiple logistic regressions estimated the impact of the most desired technology category on the likelihood of extending the perseverance time by more than six months. Analyses were stratified by caregiver living arrangement (co-residing vs living nearby). Among co-residing caregivers, daily living support technologies were associated with reduced caregiving hours, whereas risk prevention technologies were linked to longer current perseverance time but also higher self-rated burden. Risk response technologies were also associated with higher self-rated burden. Among caregivers living nearby, risk prevention technologies were associated with higher quality of life. Moreover, daily living support and risk response technologies most strongly extended perseverance time beyond six months in both groups. Assistive technologies play a nuanced role in supporting informal caregivers of community-dwelling people with dementia, with impacts differing by living arrangement and technology type.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Bagnasco, G., & van Exel, J. N. A. (2025). Impact of assistive technologies on caregiver burden and perseverance for people with dementia at home. Health Policy and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101134
Vancouver
Bagnasco G, van Exel JNA. Impact of assistive technologies on caregiver burden and perseverance for people with dementia at home. Health Policy and Technology. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101134.
BibTeX
@article{bagnasco2025-0e41959d,
author = {Bagnasco, Gabriele and van Exel, Job N. A.},
title = {{Impact of assistive technologies on caregiver burden and perseverance for people with dementia at home}},
journal = {Health Policy and Technology},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101134},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101134}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- An online survey of 342 informal caregivers in the Netherlands assessed objective burden (tasks and time involved in caregiving), subjective burden (personal experience of stress and strain), current perseverance time (time expected to be able to continue providing care), and well-being (overall happiness).
- Among co-residing caregivers, daily living support technologies were associated with reduced caregiving hours, whereas risk prevention technologies were linked to longer current perseverance time but also higher self-rated burden.
- Risk response technologies were also associated with higher self-rated burden.
- Among caregivers living nearby, risk prevention technologies were associated with higher quality of life.
Why it matters
This survey of 342 informal caregivers in the Netherlands found that daily living support technologies were linked to fewer care hours, while risk prevention technologies were tied to longer perseverance time and higher well-being. The findings concern assistive technology use and caregiver outcomes and do not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Caregiving →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 34/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Health Policy and Technology) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Health Policy and Technology: journal h-index 59 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 3 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Job N. A. van Exel: h-index 65 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Erasmus University Rotterdam: institution h-index 837 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 34 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Related studies in Caregiving
Also tagged “care”
995 studies in the library carry the topic tag “care”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 995 tagged studies.