A Taxonomy of Design Options for Informal Caregiving Support Applications

Aging populations are straining many healthcare systems worldwide. The demographic shift leads to higher morbidity and consequently higher care dependency. To respond to a growing shortage of healthcare professionals, non-professional care that is often carried out by family and friends serves as a solution. While digital healthcare applications for informal care are promising to alleviate caregiver burden and enable continuity of care, there is limited understanding of how to design them. Against this backdrop, we analyzed 61 scientific papers and 30 real-world applications to arrive at a taxonomy for informal caregiving support applications (ICSA). Our paper contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a structured overview of ICSA design options as well as assisting researchers and practitioners in making informed reflections about how to design such applications.