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Care Partner Perspectives on the Use of a Patient Portal Intervention to Promote Care Partner Identification in Dementia Care
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Care Partner Perspectives on the Use of a Patient Portal Intervention to Promote Care Partner Identification in Dementia Care

Catherine Riffin, Jessica Cassidy, Jamie M. Smith, Erika Begler, Danielle Peereboom, Hillary D. Lum, Catherine M. DesRoches and Jennifer L. Wolff
Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol.44(1)
2025

Abstract

Aged Female Humans Interviews as Topic Male Middle Aged Patient Portals Primary Health Care Qualitative Research adult amnesia Article care partner caregiver clinical practice cognition distress syndrome engagement frustration geriatric care health care delivery health care need human human experiment informed consent patient care patient preference perception primary medical care scheduled visit semi structured interview telephone interview thematic analysis triangulation workflow interview medical record therapy Caregivers Dementia Interpersonal Communication Social Work Psychology
Care partners are crucial to supporting the complex health needs of older adults with dementia, but they are not systematically identified in care delivery. As part of a real-world implementation project in geriatric primary care, we adapted a portal-based agenda setting intervention, OurNotes, by incorporating items to help care partners self-identify. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with care partners (N = 15) who completed the adapted OurNotes to explore their perceptions of the tool (usability, benefits, and challenges) and recommendations for refinement. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Benefits included enhancing care partners’ preparedness for the visit and opening a direct channel to express concerns about patients’ cognition and memory loss to clinicians. Challenges pertained to clinician responsiveness; recommendations focused on enabling the submitted OurNotes responses to be edited and updated by multiple care partners. Such refinements may help to maximize the impact of adapted OurNotes’ and potential for future implementation and dissemination. © The Author(s) 2024.

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