Exploring the Digital Support Needs of Caregivers of People With Serious Mental Illness

Siddiqui, F., Varghese, D., Singh, P., Bapuji Bayyavarapu, S., Lindsay, S. , Chandrasekara, D., Kulkarni, P., Wu, L., Alshehri, T. and Olivier, P. (2023) Exploring the Digital Support Needs of Caregivers of People With Serious Mental Illness. In: 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23), Hamburg, Germany, 23-28 Apr 2023, p. 560. ISBN 9781450394215 (doi: 10.1145/3544548.3580674)

Abstract

In low-and middle-income countries like India, people with severe mental illness (PSMI) rely on their families as a primary source of care, given the lack of support from healthcare systems. The demanding nature of caregiving places significant physical and mental demands on caregivers, who are the primary source of support to PSMI. We explore how caregivers in under-resourced settings can be better supported through everyday digital technologies. We conducted interviews with caregivers (from urban and rural India), as well as workshops with professionals from Indian NGOs that work directly with PSMIs. We found that technology has the potential to (1) provide carer-centred support that empowers carers who experience stigma and issues with existing support networks; (2) provide support for carers to overcome barriers and progress in the recovery of the PSMI. We conclude with design considerations, proposing how an online peer community can leverage carers’ expertise to actualise support provision.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lindsay, Dr Stephen
• Authors: Siddiqui, F., Varghese, D., Singh, P., Bapuji Bayyavarapu, S., Lindsay, S., Chandrasekara, D., Kulkarni, P., Wu, L., Alshehri, T., and Olivier, P.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• ISBN: 9781450394215
• Copyright Holders: © 2023 Copyright held by the owner/author(s)
• First Published: First published in CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy