Perspectives of informal caregivers on using in-home technology to monitor activities of person with serious mental illness

As a result of the U.S deinstitutionalization policy of the 1960’s persons with serious mental illness often live with and rely upon family members and friends to serve as informal caregivers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of informal caregivers on using in-home technology such as the In-Home Health Monitoring System (IMS) to monitor activities of persons with serious mental illness. Findings revealed that informal caregivers have a positive attitude toward using the IMS for their loved one’s mental health recovery, perceive the IMS to be useful, and find the IMS neither easy nor difficult to use. Findings extend the theoretical literature on the technology acceptance model and support the inclusion of informal caregivers in social work research aimed at determining the extent to which the use of IMS results in positive mental health outcomes for persons with serious mental illness.