JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic posed several challenges to health systems, namely increased morbidity and mortality. The pandemic affected mostly the elderly because of their frailty condition and being more susceptible to developing severe complications. The WHO and the Directorate General of Health issued directives during the pandemic, but most of this information was only available to the general population through the media. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) emerge as a solution to support the empowerment of family caregivers of vulnerable people, especially in times of social isolation.

Objective:

This study sought to develop and validate a MOOC, integrating personal and housing hygiene measures to be adopted in self-care-related activities, surveillance, and monitoring by caregivers of the most vulnerable home-dwelling dependent people, to provide safe care and prevent coronavirus infection.

Methods:

Pre- and post-test studies were carried out with a convenience sample of 33 caregivers to verify the adequacy of the MOOC to its target audience before being made available on a free-access platform. Caregivers completed a questionnaire to assess the gathered knowledge, the Family Caregiving Factors Inventory (FCFI), a sociodemographic questionnaire, and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaire to evaluate the acceptance of the MOOC.

Results:

Participants showed an average knowledge score of 14.94 (SD=2.72) before attending the MOOC and 16.52 (SD=2.28) after viewing the course. The TAM revealed that the caregivers were satisfied with the course, considering it useful, with clear and understandable information. The FCFI showed that most caregivers had adequate knowledge to respond to the care challenges and good personal and social resources to accompany their family members.

Conclusions:

This MOOC constitutes an important tool to raise awareness and provide better training to informal caregivers. Clinical Trial: Without registration