Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study
BackgroundCaregivers of children with growth hormone deficiency often face emotional challenges (eg, stress) associated with their children’s health conditions. This psychological burden might affect children’s adherence to treatment and hinder their health-related quality of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2025-02-01
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| Series: | JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting |
| Online Access: | https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2025/1/e55023 |
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| author | Alba Jiménez-Díaz Maitena Pierantonelli Patricia Morte Coscolín Amaia Salinas-Uhalte Silvia Quer-Palomas Octavio Rivera-Romero Rocío Herrero Luis Fernández-Luque Rosa Baños Ricardo C Berrios Antonio de Arriba |
| author_facet | Alba Jiménez-Díaz Maitena Pierantonelli Patricia Morte Coscolín Amaia Salinas-Uhalte Silvia Quer-Palomas Octavio Rivera-Romero Rocío Herrero Luis Fernández-Luque Rosa Baños Ricardo C Berrios Antonio de Arriba |
| author_sort | Alba Jiménez-Díaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
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BackgroundCaregivers of children with growth hormone deficiency often face emotional challenges (eg, stress) associated with their children’s health conditions. This psychological burden might affect children’s adherence to treatment and hinder their health-related quality of life (HrQoL). This assumption is leading to seriously considering multidimensional clinical approaches to pediatric health conditions where the emotional well-being of caregivers should be accounted for to optimize children’s health outcomes. Novel mobile health (mHealth) solutions based on emotional and behavioral change techniques can play a promising role because they are increasingly used within different health areas to support adaptive psychological functioning. However, whether and how mHealth solutions of this type of emotional well-being support caregivers of children with growth-related problems is an issue that needs to be clarified.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to gather qualitative information to better understand individualized experiences of caregiving of children undergoing growth hormone therapy (GHt) and perceived barriers or facilitators for the adoption of an mHealth solution called Adhera Caring Digital Program (ACDP).
MethodsA total of 10 family caregivers were recruited at Miguel Servet Children’s Hospital, and they engaged with the ACDP for 1 month. The ACDP is a mobile-based digital intervention focused on promoting the overall well-being of family caregivers which provides access to personalized education, motivational mobile-based messages, and mental well-being exercises such as mindfulness or respiratory exercises. Subsequently, an individual semistructured interview was performed to gather qualitative user experience information.
ResultsThe digital intervention was well-received. The ACDP was found to be useful, easy to use, and understandable, addressing all the difficulties expressed by caregivers. It was also noted to be particularly helpful at the beginning of the treatment and, for some families, became a natural tool that strengthened the parent-child relationship.
ConclusionsThe ACDP is a promising and well-accepted tool that enhances the experience of patients and caregivers. It improves the management of growth hormone deficiency and promotes the overall well-being of family caregivers.
Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials NCT04812665; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04812665
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.1186/s12911-022-01935-1 |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-251765d6a96b412aa770bdd1aa58752a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2561-6722 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting |
| spelling | doaj-art-251765d6a96b412aa770bdd1aa58752a2025-02-05T13:30:34ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Pediatrics and Parenting2561-67222025-02-018e5502310.2196/55023Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility StudyAlba Jiménez-Díazhttps://orcid.org/0009-0003-7440-1480Maitena Pierantonellihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3677-2163Patricia Morte Coscolínhttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-0499-0482Amaia Salinas-Uhaltehttps://orcid.org/0009-0003-4464-7703Silvia Quer-Palomashttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4007-8617Octavio Rivera-Romerohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7212-9805Rocío Herrerohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6987-6607Luis Fernández-Luquehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8165-9904Rosa Bañoshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0626-7665Ricardo C Berrioshttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-5449-0267Antonio de Arribahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2865-5813 BackgroundCaregivers of children with growth hormone deficiency often face emotional challenges (eg, stress) associated with their children’s health conditions. This psychological burden might affect children’s adherence to treatment and hinder their health-related quality of life (HrQoL). This assumption is leading to seriously considering multidimensional clinical approaches to pediatric health conditions where the emotional well-being of caregivers should be accounted for to optimize children’s health outcomes. Novel mobile health (mHealth) solutions based on emotional and behavioral change techniques can play a promising role because they are increasingly used within different health areas to support adaptive psychological functioning. However, whether and how mHealth solutions of this type of emotional well-being support caregivers of children with growth-related problems is an issue that needs to be clarified. ObjectiveThis study aimed to gather qualitative information to better understand individualized experiences of caregiving of children undergoing growth hormone therapy (GHt) and perceived barriers or facilitators for the adoption of an mHealth solution called Adhera Caring Digital Program (ACDP). MethodsA total of 10 family caregivers were recruited at Miguel Servet Children’s Hospital, and they engaged with the ACDP for 1 month. The ACDP is a mobile-based digital intervention focused on promoting the overall well-being of family caregivers which provides access to personalized education, motivational mobile-based messages, and mental well-being exercises such as mindfulness or respiratory exercises. Subsequently, an individual semistructured interview was performed to gather qualitative user experience information. ResultsThe digital intervention was well-received. The ACDP was found to be useful, easy to use, and understandable, addressing all the difficulties expressed by caregivers. It was also noted to be particularly helpful at the beginning of the treatment and, for some families, became a natural tool that strengthened the parent-child relationship. ConclusionsThe ACDP is a promising and well-accepted tool that enhances the experience of patients and caregivers. It improves the management of growth hormone deficiency and promotes the overall well-being of family caregivers. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials NCT04812665; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04812665 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.1186/s12911-022-01935-1https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2025/1/e55023 |
| spellingShingle | Alba Jiménez-Díaz Maitena Pierantonelli Patricia Morte Coscolín Amaia Salinas-Uhalte Silvia Quer-Palomas Octavio Rivera-Romero Rocío Herrero Luis Fernández-Luque Rosa Baños Ricardo C Berrios Antonio de Arriba Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting |
| title | Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study |
| title_full | Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study |
| title_fullStr | Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study |
| title_short | Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study |
| title_sort | digital health program to support family caregivers of children undergoing growth hormone therapy qualitative feasibility study |
| url | https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2025/1/e55023 |
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