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Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study
Chetna Malhotra, Yanzhen Yue, Chandrika Ramakrishnan, Shimoni Urvish Shah, Wenda Chen, Philip Lin Kiat Yap, Chin Yee Cheong, Irene Teo et al.. JMIR Aging, 2025-11-03
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
In phase 1, the mean system usability scores increased from 65.4 (SD 11.8) in round 1 to 73.8 (SD 15.9) in round 3, exceeding the benchmark of 68. In phase 2, caregivers rated the app highly, with an overall mean score of 95.4 (SD 8.5) on the Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire. The domains of ease of use (mean 24.1, SD 2.9), user interface and satisfaction (mean 40.3, SD 3.4), and usefulness (mean 31, SD 3.9) received high Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire ratings. Participants valued the content focused on dementia management and caregiver well-being. Caregivers appreciated the interactive features: social networking portal, service directory, and conversational large language model. Feedback highlighted areas for improvement, including reducing textual overload and addressing navigational challenges. CareBuddy offers a multifaceted digital solution for dementia caregivers, with high usability and satisfaction. An ongoing trial is evaluating the app's effectiveness in improving caregiver outcomes.
Key findings
- In phase 1, the mean system usability scores increased from 65.4 (SD 11.8) in round 1 to 73.8 (SD 15.9) in round 3, exceeding the benchmark of 68.
- In phase 2, caregivers rated the app highly, with an overall mean score of 95.4 (SD 8.5) on the Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire.
- The domains of ease of use (mean 24.1, SD 2.9), user interface and satisfaction (mean 40.3, SD 3.4), and usefulness (mean 31, SD 3.9) received high Mobile Health App Usability Questionnaire ratings.
- Participants valued the content focused on dementia management and caregiver well-being.
- Caregivers appreciated the interactive features: social networking portal, service directory, and conversational large language model.
Why it matters
Caregivers rated the CareBuddy mobile app highly for usability and satisfaction, and an ongoing trial is evaluating whether it improves caregiver outcomes. This study assessed app usability, not any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Study designclinical trial
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 38/100
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. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 36 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 38 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (JMIR Aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | JMIR Aging: journal h-index 49 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | Design recorded as “clinical trial”, which our rubric does not rank (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 | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 1.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.1× 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 5 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Ivy Chua holds only 5 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | National University of Singapore: institution h-index 1,166 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41543360) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 36 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 36 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 38 out of 100. |
| Total | 38 / 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).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Malhotra, C., Yue, Y., Ramakrishnan, C., Shah, S. U., Chen, W., Yap, P. L. K., et al. (2025). Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Aging. https://doi.org/10.2196/78759
Vancouver
Malhotra C, Yue Y, Ramakrishnan C, Shah SU, Chen W, Yap PLK, et al. Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Aging. 2025. doi:10.2196/78759. PMID: 41543360.
BibTeX
@article{malhotra2025-41543360,
author = {Malhotra, Chetna and Yue, Yanzhen and Ramakrishnan, Chandrika and Shah, Shimoni Urvish and Chen, Wenda and Yap, Philip Lin Kiat and Cheong, Chin Yee and Teo, Irene and others},
title = {{Supporting Dementia Caregiving With a Mobile Care Ecosystem: Development and Mixed Methods Study}},
journal = {JMIR Aging},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.2196/78759},
pmid = {41543360},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2196/78759}
}
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