AUTHOR=Ottaviani Ana Carolina , Monteiro Diana Quirino , Ferreira Campos Camila Rafael , Barham Elizabeth Joan , Oliveira Déborah , da Cruz Keila Cristianne Trindade , Corrêa Larissa , de Souza Orlandi Fabiana , Zazzetta Marisa Silvana , Gratão Aline Cristina Martins , Pavarini Sofia Cristina Iost 

TITLE=ISupport-Brasil: Preliminary results of the usability and acceptability assessment by caregivers of people who have dementia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.981748

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.981748

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To assess usability and acceptability of <italic>iSupport-Brasil</italic> (<italic>iSupport-BR</italic>) to virtually support family caregivers of people who have dementia.</p></sec><sec><title>Materials and methods</title><p>In the first stage, nine caregivers/former caregivers assessed the interface of the platform that hosts <italic>iSupport-BR</italic>. In the second stage, 10 caregivers assessed acceptability of the platform and answered the System Usability Scale (SUS), which varies from 0 to 100 points. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative data was performed, as well as a thematic analysis on the open questions. All the ethical aspects were respected.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The results of the first stage indicated a user-friendly interface of the system and relevant content of the program, with 55.6 and 77.8% of the participants assigning the maximum grade to these questions, respectively. Of the five possible points, the system’s mean score was 3.7. In Stage 2, 80% of the caregivers rated the program as very useful and 100% would recommend it to other caregivers. Perception of the program’s usability by the SUS scale was excellent (<italic>M</italic> = 86.5 ± 11.5).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>This research allowed elaborating the final version of <italic>iSupport-BR</italic>, considering usability and acceptability of the platform and the program for computers/notebooks, being a pioneer in evaluating it for use in smartphones. Future research studies will have to assess the effects of <italic>iSupport-BR</italic> on the caregivers’ mental health.</p></sec>