Projects

Project Description

Informal caregiving is a growing phenomenon in the United States because of the rapid growth of the aging and disabled population and the lack of financial ability to find a professional caregiver. And one of the concerns for the well-being of the informal caregivers is the declining relationship between the informal caregivers and elderly care recipients. However, research and technology focusing on supporting the psychological well-being of caregivers are sparse. Prior research shows that therapy could help relieve caregiver stress. Technology-mediated therapy could make the support more accessible to the general public, particularly in the aging society and with a population that has limited access to therapy resources. The overall research is to develop and deliver a therapy-inspired robot prototype for informal caregivers. Following up on in-person or online interviews with the informal caregivers from the ongoing study, we will also conduct a future technology workshop (a co-design workshop), to allow informal caregivers to create and plan how they connect with current and future technology-supporting therapies. We will also analyze the data collected from the workshop.

Technology or Computational Component

This project will use human-centered design methodologies to understand, design, and evaluate design principles in the context of informal caregivers.