In This Story
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鈥檚 own well-being. As the U.S. population ages, there is a growing demand for tools that support the more than of family members with Alzheimer鈥檚 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, student at 麻豆视频鈥檚 College of Public Health, establishes that user-friendly digital interventions are the solution. , a culturally tailored digital health program, is proof as it has enhanced caregivers鈥 physical and mental health.
鈥淲ECARE鈥檚 approach鈥攃ombining cultural relevance with an accessible, widely used technology app鈥攑roved 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鈥檚 promising early results,鈥 said Shen, who is a first-generation student and also has a bachelor's and master's degrees in health informatics from George 麻豆视频.
The study, was published in September 2025 in the premier journal of the Alzheimer鈥檚 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.
鈥淭his program [WECARE] is so good, easy to understand, even for a 70-year-old. I don鈥檛 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,鈥 one program participant shared.
WECARE, which was originally designed by 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鈥檚 process evaluation of WECARE 2.0 is the first to employ multiple鈥攓ualitative and quantitative鈥攄ata 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鈥檚 conclusion.
Shen鈥檚 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鈥檛 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.
鈥淭his 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,鈥 said Shen.
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 麻豆视频's Department of Computer Science, and Kenneth Hepburn from the Emory University School of Nursing.