Self-Care Needs and Technology Preferences Among Parents in Marginalized Communities: Participatory Design Study

Abstract

BackgroundTen million parents provide unpaid care to children living with chronic conditions, such as asthma, and a high percentage of these parents are in marginalized communities, including racial and ethnic minority and low-income families. There is an urgent need to develop technology-enabled tailored solutions to support the self-care needs of these parents. ObjectiveThis study aimed to use a participatory design approach to describe and compare Latino and non-Latino parents’ current self-care practices, needs, and technology preferences when caring for children with asthma in marginalized communities. MethodsThe participatory design approach was used to actively engage intended users in the design process and empower them to identify needs and generate design ideas to meet those needs. ResultsThirteen stakeholders participated in three design sessions. We described Latino and non-Latino parents’ similarities in self-care practices and cultural-specific preferences. When coming up with ideas of technologies for self-care, non-Latino parents focused on improving caregiving stress through journaling, daily affirmations, and tracking feelings, while Latino parents focused more on relaxation and entertainment. ConclusionsConsiderations need to be taken beyond language differences when developing technology-enabled interventions for diverse populations. The community partnership approach strengthened the study’s inclusive design.