New scientific publication on the informal carers’ perceptions of self-efficacy and subjective well-being when using telecare in the home environment

Assist. Prof. Simona Hvalič Touzery, PhD, Kaja Smole Orehek, and assoc. prof. Vesna Dolničar, PhD (Centre for Social Informatics) have jointly published a scientific article entitled “Informal Caregivers’ Perceptions of Self-Efficacy and Subjective Well-Being when Using Telecare in the Home Environment: A Qualitative Study” in the journal Geriatrics. The article is available in open access.

The paper draws on qualitative data gathered from informal carers to explore their perceptions of and associations between self-efficacy (SE) and subjective well-being when using different telecare functionalities. SE can be used to explain informal caregivers’ ability to cope with the challenges of caregiving. A four-month intervention study was conducted from 2018 to 2019 in the Central Slovenia region. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 informal carers of older people who tested one of two telecare devices in their homes. Five task-specific dimensions of carer SE were identified that were shaped by telecare use: controlling upsetting thoughts about the care recipient, managing protective vigilance, obtaining support in emergency situations, managing caregiving, work and family life, and responding in a timely manner to changes in the care recipient’s daily routine. These SE dimensions were associated with carers’ subjective well-being as higher levels of informal carers’ SE led to positive emotional experiences and thus improved subjective well-being for the informal carers (measured by positive and negative emotional experiences).

The study adds to the body of knowledge about the effects of telecare use on various dimensions of informal carers’ SE. It also suggests that additional dimensions of informal carers’ SE should be included in existing SE scales when examining this construct in the context of telecare use.

This research was funded by Slovenian Research Agency, grant number L5‐7626, number J5‐1785, number P5‐0399.