TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jiménez-Díaz, Alba
AU  - Pierantonelli, Maitena
AU  - Morte Coscolín, Patricia
AU  - Salinas-Uhalte, Amaia
AU  - Quer-Palomas, Silvia
AU  - Rivera-Romero, Octavio
AU  - Herrero, Rocío
AU  - Fernández-Luque, Luis
AU  - Baños, Rosa
AU  - Berrios, Ricardo C
AU  - de Arriba, Antonio
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/2/5
TI  - Digital Health Program to Support Family Caregivers of Children Undergoing Growth Hormone Therapy: Qualitative Feasibility Study
JO  - JMIR Pediatr Parent
SP  - e55023
VL  - 8
KW  - growth hormone deficiency
KW  - mobile based solutions
KW  - caregivers
KW  - technology acceptance
KW  - digital health
KW  - children
KW  - therapy
KW  - feasibility study
KW  - health condition
KW  - psychological burden
KW  - quality of life
KW  - wellbeing
KW  - pediatric
KW  - mobile Health
KW  - mHealth
KW  - behavioral change
KW  - parent-child relationship
AB  - Background: Caregivers of children with growth hormone deficiency often face emotional challenges (eg, stress) associated with their children’s health conditions. This psychological burden might affect children’s adherence to treatment and hinder their health-related quality of life (HrQoL). This assumption is leading to seriously considering multidimensional clinical approaches to pediatric health conditions where the emotional well-being of caregivers should be accounted for to optimize children’s health outcomes. Novel mobile health (mHealth) solutions based on emotional and behavioral change techniques can play a promising role because they are increasingly used within different health areas to support adaptive psychological functioning. However, whether and how mHealth solutions of this type of emotional well-being support caregivers of children with growth-related problems is an issue that needs to be clarified. Objective: This study aimed to gather qualitative information to better understand individualized experiences of caregiving of children undergoing growth hormone therapy (GHt) and perceived barriers or facilitators for the adoption of an mHealth solution called Adhera Caring Digital Program (ACDP). Methods: A total of 10 family caregivers were recruited at Miguel Servet Children’s Hospital, and they engaged with the ACDP for 1 month. The ACDP is a mobile-based digital intervention focused on promoting the overall well-being of family caregivers which provides access to personalized education, motivational mobile-based messages, and mental well-being exercises such as mindfulness or respiratory exercises. Subsequently, an individual semistructured interview was performed to gather qualitative user experience information. Results: The digital intervention was well-received. The ACDP was found to be useful, easy to use, and understandable, addressing all the difficulties expressed by caregivers. It was also noted to be particularly helpful at the beginning of the treatment and, for some families, became a natural tool that strengthened the parent-child relationship. Conclusions: The ACDP is a promising and well-accepted tool that enhances the experience of patients and caregivers. It improves the management of growth hormone deficiency and promotes the overall well-being of family caregivers. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials NCT04812665; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04812665 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/s12911-022-01935-1 
SN  - 2561-6722
UR  - https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2025/1/e55023
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/55023
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39908086
DO  - 10.2196/55023
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/55023
ER  -