Abstract
Caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) encounter various challenges that lead to stress and burnout. Although multi-modal behavioral information holds potential for improving caregiving efficiency in healthcare, there is still limited research on adapting these technologies to address the unique requirements of ID caregivers. This study employs an empathic design approach to understand the experiences, emotions, needs, and contextual challenges of ID caregivers regarding multi-modal behavioral information systems for adults with ID. Through interviews with 16 formal caregivers (aged from 25 to 62, female=14) in Hong Kong, we identified key challenges in their daily caregiving practice, including addressing non-compliance, managing communication barriers, and monitoring unpredictable behaviors. Three themes were revealed from the study: caregiving contextual adaptability, tailored modality integration (i.e., visual, auditory, and haptic), and collaboration and communication support. These themes contribute to design opportunities for future multi-modal information technologies that reduce care burden while supporting ID caregivers' workflows.
Keywords
Intellectual disabilities; Empathic design; Multi-modal information; Caregiving experience
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.406
Citation
Zhao, Z., Mao, Q., Du, Y., Lee, Y.B., Sit, W.R.,and Wang, H.(2025) An Empathic Design Approach to Understanding Caregivers' Perceptions on Multi-modal Behavioral Information of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.406
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 9 - Healthcare Design
An Empathic Design Approach to Understanding Caregivers' Perceptions on Multi-modal Behavioral Information of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
Caregivers of adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) encounter various challenges that lead to stress and burnout. Although multi-modal behavioral information holds potential for improving caregiving efficiency in healthcare, there is still limited research on adapting these technologies to address the unique requirements of ID caregivers. This study employs an empathic design approach to understand the experiences, emotions, needs, and contextual challenges of ID caregivers regarding multi-modal behavioral information systems for adults with ID. Through interviews with 16 formal caregivers (aged from 25 to 62, female=14) in Hong Kong, we identified key challenges in their daily caregiving practice, including addressing non-compliance, managing communication barriers, and monitoring unpredictable behaviors. Three themes were revealed from the study: caregiving contextual adaptability, tailored modality integration (i.e., visual, auditory, and haptic), and collaboration and communication support. These themes contribute to design opportunities for future multi-modal information technologies that reduce care burden while supporting ID caregivers' workflows.