Depression and Loneliness Among Mexican American Family Caregivers for Patients with Alzheimer's Disease during COVID-19: Utilization of Technology

Background: The number of Latinos with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) is expected to rise to 1.3 million by 2050. Distinct from non-Latino Whites, Mexican Americans with ADRD rely heavily on unpaid informal care provided by family members or friends. Latino informal caregivers are more burdened, anxious, and lack social support than other ethnic groups. Emergency situations, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, present special challenges to AD informal caregivers. The use of information communication technology (ICT) among caregivers is associated with significant improvements in mental health and social support. However, current ICT studies focus mainly on White American caregivers. This study fills the gap.

Method: The study was conducted along the South Texas and Mexico Border. From November 2021 to November 2022, we collected 115 surveys, of which 11 were collected from the clinic, and 104 were collected online. The survey included the demographic information of caregivers, their physical health situation, UCLA Loneliness Scale version 3, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), Lubben Social Network Scale-18 (LSNS-18), and the frequency of internet utilization and different types of internet utilization (e.g., social media, email, online video, etc.).

Results: The participants, aged from 18 to 82 and have cared for their family members with ADRD for two years on average. Half of the participants are primary caregivers, and 58% are taking care of their parents. Fifty-nine percent of participants have a college degree or above. About 70.4% of them use the internet daily. The following ICT was utilized more frequently among the participants Texting, email, WhatsApp, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The results indicated that their social network was low, with an average score on the LSNS-18 scale of 37 out of 90.

Additionally, their average score on the CES-D scale is 15.7, and the mean UCLA Loneliness Scale is 44. The correlation between different types of ICT utilization, depression, and loneliness demonstrated that the more time spent on Instagram, YikYak, and first-person shooter online games, the higher depression the participants had. Also, the more first-person shooter online games they use, the more lonely they feel. There is no significant relationship between other ICT and loneliness and depression. Besides, the relationship between the social network and utilization of Vine, Pinterest, Kik, GroupMe, Whatsgoodly, and Chat services is positive.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that evaluating different types of ICT and their effects on Mexican American informal caregivers' mental health is necessary. To help them solve social isolation and loneliness, we suggest choosing an appropriate ICT based on their caregiver's roles, situation, Latino culture, and needs.