JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The majority of persons living with dementia want to live in their own homes for as long as possible. To do so, they frequently require assistance with activities of daily living, which is often provided by friends and relatives acting as informal caregivers. In Canada, many of these informal caregivers are currently overworked and overwhelmed. Thus, while community-based dementia-inclusive resources are available, caregivers often struggle to find them. Dementia613.ca, was created to make the process of finding community dementia-inclusive resources simpler and more straightforward by bringing them together in one eHealth website.

Objective:

The objective of our study was to determine if dementia613.ca is meeting its goal of connecting caregivers and persons living with dementia to dementia-inclusive resources in their community.

Methods:

A review and assessment of the website was conducted using three evaluation methods: web-analytics, a questionnaire, and a task analysis. Google Analytics was used to collect data related to website use for a nine-month period. Data on site content and user characteristics was collected. Two web-based self-administered questionnaires were developed; one was intended for caregivers and persons living with dementia, and the other was intended for businesses and organizations interested in serving persons living with dementia. Both gathered data on users’ characteristics and included standard questions used in website evaluations. Responses were collected over a six-month period. Scenario, tasks, and questions were developed for moderated, remote, task-analysis sessions. These tasks and questions determined how effectively persons living with dementia and their care partners could use dementia613.ca. Five sessions were held with persons experiencing moderate cognitive decline and care partners of persons living with dementia.

Results:

This evaluation showed that the idea behind dementia613.ca is strong and appeals to persons living with dementia and the stakeholders who serve them. Participants indicate that it meets a previously unfilled need in the area and highlighted the usefulness of bringing community resources together in one website. Users saw the information on dementia613.ca as credible and felt that it provided them with relevant resources and information. There is room for improvement; participants indicated that the navigation and search features could be developed further.

Conclusions:

We believe that the framework behind dementia613.ca is generalizable and could be replicated in other regions to help care partners and persons living with dementia find local resources more easily.