Conference Paper2025

Design and Evaluation of CareLine: mHealth Service App for Elder Citizens Connecting with Caregivers Within Bangladesh

Nusrat Jahan Shawon, Nizar Ahmed, Fabia Jannat, Moinul Alam, Ashraful Islam

2025 6th International Conference on Mobile Computing and Sustainable Informatics (ICMCSI)

IEEE, pp. 1517-1523

  • Good Health and Well-being — Relevance: 87%

Abstract

In Bangladesh, the shift in family dynamics and social changes has created a pressing need for caregiving solutions that prioritize both quality and accessibility for elderly people. This work presents an online mobile health (mHealth) platform named ‘CareLine’ connecting families with qualified caregivers. The goal of this mHealth platform as a smartphone application (app) is to bridge the elderly care gap in Bangladesh. Based on a literature survey and informed brainstorming, the ‘CareLine’ mHealth app is built in Bangla and ensures accessibility for native Bangladeshi target users. ‘CareLine’ app includes four key features: List of Available Caregivers, Scheduling Caregiving, Search for Services, and Help and Support. Later, an early-stage user evaluation of ‘CareLine’ is carried out with 40 participants. Majority of participants expressed a positive perception for the available features in ‘CareLine’. By addressing these critical needs, the ‘CareLine’ app offers a comprehensive solution to Bangladesh's caregiving challenges for the elderly, providing immediate support while paving the way for future advancements in elder care through digital transformation.

Keywords

  • elderly care
  • Bangladesh
  • user evaluation
  • mobile application design
  • mobile health

CCDS Authors

Ashraful Islam, PhD
Ashraful Islam

Ashraful Islam, PhD

  • Center Director, CCDS
  • Director, HCI Wing

Assistant Professor

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)

Published at

CHI, UIST, UbiComp, IJCNN, ICIP, HCII, ICDMW, BLP, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, JMIR, JMIR Human Factors, JMIR Formative Research, IEEE Access, Smart Agricultural Technology, Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, PLOS ONE

Research Interests

Human-Computer Interaction, AI for Social Good, AI for Public Health, AI for Impact

References

  1. 1.Aaron Bangor, Philip Kortum, James Miller. (2008). An Empirical Evaluation of the System Usability Scale. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 24(6), 574–594[10.1080/10447310802205776]
  2. 2.Mussab Alaa, A. A. Zaidan, B. B. Zaidan, Mohammed Talal, Miss Laiha Mat Kiah. (2017). A review of smart home applications based on Internet of Things. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 97, 48–65[10.1016/j.jnca.2017.08.017]
  3. 3.Miha Cimperman, Maja Makovec Brenčić, Peter Trkman. (2016). Analyzing older users’ home telehealth services acceptance behavior—applying an Extended UTAUT model. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 90, 22–31[10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.03.002]
  4. 4.Sumit Majumder, Emad Aghayi, Moein Noferesti, Hamidreza Memarzadeh‐Tehran, Tapas Mondal, Zhibo Pang, M. Jamal Deen. (2017). Smart Homes for Elderly Healthcare—Recent Advances and Research Challenges. Sensors, 17(11), 2496[10.3390/s17112496]
  5. 5.Tobias Krick, Kai Hüter, Dominik Domhoff, Annika Schmidt, Heinz Rothgang, Karin Wolf‐Ostermann. (2019). Digital technology and nursing care: a scoping review on acceptance, effectiveness and efficiency studies of informal and formal care technologies. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 400[10.1186/s12913-019-4238-3]
  6. 6.Inmaculada Plaza, L. Martin, Sergio Martín, Carlos Medrano. (2011). Mobile applications in an aging society: Status and trends. Journal of Systems and Software, 84(11), 1977–1988[10.1016/j.jss.2011.05.035]
  7. 7.M. Jamal Deen. (2015). Information and communications technologies for elderly ubiquitous healthcare in a smart home. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 19(3-4), 573–599[10.1007/s00779-015-0856-x]
  8. 8.Johan Frishammar, Anna Essén, Frida Bergström, Tilda Ekman. (2023). Digital health platforms for the elderly? Key adoption and usage barriers and ways to address them. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 189, 122319[10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122319]
  9. 9.Valtuir Duarte de Souza-Junior, Isabel Amélia Costa Mendes, Alessandra Mazzo, Simone Godoy. (2015). Application of telenursing in nursing practice: an integrative literature review. Applied Nursing Research, 29, 254–260[10.1016/j.apnr.2015.05.005]
  10. 10.Antoni Barikdar, Tahera Ahmed, Shamima Parvin Lasker. (2016). The Situation of the Elderly in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics, 7(1), 27–36[10.3329/bioethics.v7i1.29303]
  11. 11.Kate Magsamen‐Conrad, Jeanette M. Dillon, China Billotte Verhoff, Sandra L. Faulkner. (2018). Online Health-Information Seeking Among Older Populations: Family Influences and the Role of the Medical Professional. Health Communication, 34(8), 859–871[10.1080/10410236.2018.1439265]
  12. 12.Vivian Welch, Elizabeth Tanjong Ghogomu, Victoria Barbeau, Sierra Dowling, Rebecca E. Doyle, Ella Beveridge, Elisabeth Boulton, Payaam Desai, Jimmy Xiangji Huang, Nour Elmestekawy, Tarannum Hussain, Arpana Wadhwani, Sabrina Boutin, Niobe Haitas, Dylan Kneale, Douglas M Salzwedel, Roger Simard, Paul C. Hébert, Christopher Mikton. (2023). Digital interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness in older adults: An evidence and gap map. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 19(4), e1369[10.1002/cl2.1369]
  13. 13.Charlene C. Quinn, Sheila Staub, Erik Barr, Ann L. Gruber‐Baldini. (2019). Mobile Support for Older Adults and Their Caregivers: Dyad Usability Study. JMIR Aging, 2(1), e12276[10.2196/12276]
  14. 14.Abdur Razzaque Sarker, Irfat Zabeen, Moriam Khanam, Ruckshana Akter, Nausad Ali. (2023). Healthcare-seeking experiences of older citizens in Bangladesh: A qualitative study. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(2), e0001185[10.1371/journal.pgph.0001185]
  15. 15.Rachel Fisher, Jasneet Parmar, Wendy Austin, Peter George Jaminal Tian, Wonita Janzen, Sharon Anderson, Suzette Brémault‐Phillips. (2020). Health-care Workforce Training to Effectively Support Family Caregivers of Seniors in Care. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 23(2), 160–171[10.5770/cgj.23.384]
  16. 16.A. Dwivedi, Nilmini Wickramasinghe, R.K. Bali, R.N.G. Naguib, Steve Goldberg. (2007). Critical success factors for achieving superior m-health success. International Journal of Electronic Healthcare, 3(2), 261[10.1504/ijeh.2007.013104]
  17. 17.Estelle Bester, Neltjie C. van Wyk, Carin Maree. (2024). Development of collaboration guidelines for nursing education and related healthcare services. Health SA Gesondheid, 29(0), 2496[10.4102/hsag.v29i0.2496]
  18. 18.A. Boessen, Renée Verwey, Saskia Duymelinck, Erik van Rossum. (2017). An Online Platform to Support the Network of Caregivers of People with Dementia. Journal of Aging Research, 2017, 1–7[10.1155/2017/3076859]
  19. 19.Kioumars Chelongar, ‎Sima Ajami‎. (2020). Using active information and communication technology for elderly homecare services: A scoping review. Home Health Care Services Quarterly, 40(1), 93–104[10.1080/01621424.2020.1826381]
  20. 20.Sumathi Balakrishnan, Siti Salwah Salim, Jer Lang Hong. (2012). User Centered Design Approach for Elderly People in Using Website. , 382–387[10.1109/acsat.2012.11]
  21. 21.Deborah A. Stockton, Cathrine Fowler, Deborah Debono, Joanne Travaglia. (2022). Development of a framework for the collaborative adaptation of service models for child and family health in diverse settings (CASCADES). Journal of Child Health Care, 28(2), 329–347[10.1177/13674935221129003]
  22. 22.Erika Warpenius, Esko Alasaarela, Hannu Sorvoja, Matti Kinnunen. (2014). A mobile user-interface for elderly care from the perspective of relatives. Informatics for Health and Social Care, 40(2), 113–124[10.3109/17538157.2013.879148]
  23. 23.Panagiotis Pavlakis, Efthimios Alepis, Maria Virvou. (2012). Intelligent Mobile Multimedia Application for the Support of the Elderly. , 297–300[10.1109/iih-msp.2012.78]
  24. 24.Mark Taylor, Rod Stables, Bashir M. Matata, Paulo JG Lisboa, Andy Laws, Peter R. Almond. (2013). Website design: Technical, social and medical issues for self-reporting by elderly patients. Health Informatics Journal, 20(2), 136–150[10.1177/1460458213488382]
  25. 25.Noof A. Al-Safi, Rawan A. Al-Asiri, Malak A. Al-Malki, Sameera Abar. (2022). Fostering Childcare E-Service. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Telecommunications and Networking, 14(1), 1–21[10.4018/ijitn.299368]
  26. 26.Rui Zhang. (2022). Design and implementation of home-based elderly care system based on community service. 2nd International Conference on Internet of Things and Smart City (IoTSC 2022), 32[10.1117/12.2636589]