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

BACKGROUND: Ten 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. OBJECTIVE: This 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. METHODS: The 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. RESULTS: Thirteen 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. CONCLUSIONS: Considerations 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.