Original Paper eHealth Services for Family Caregivers of Dependent Elderly People: An Exploratory Spanish Case Study Trinidad Carrión 1 , MSc; Manuel Armayones 2 , PhD. 1 Department of Nursing, University of Málaga, Spain 2 Department of Psychology and Sciences of the Education, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain Corresponding Author: Trinidad Carrión, MSc Department of Nursing University of Málaga Paseo de Martiricos s/n 29071 Málaga Spain Phone: +34 952137009 Fax: +34 952137064 Email: trinicar@uma.es Abstract Background: In Spain, the person mainly responsible for the care of elderly dependents at home is still the woman of the house. Although her social and cultural profile hardly favor her integration within the society of information and knowledge, the services afforded by eHealth may be a valuable tool for two reasons; to attain a level of information necessary for them and to enable them to care for themselves and the other members of the family more effectively.Background: In Spain, the person mainly responsible for the care of elderly dependents at home is still the woman of the house. Although her social and cultural profile hardly favor her integration within the society of information and knowledge, the services afforded by eHealth may be a valuable tool for two reasons; to attain a level of information necessary for them and to enable them to care for themselves and the other members of the family more effectively. Objectives: To examine the possibilities for help that Internet can provide to those looking after elderly dependants and evaluate the suitability of the eHealth services aimed at the requirements of family caregivers, in order to propose improvements for the better use of these services. Methods: We undertook a qualitative research project in two phases: A. Ethnographic needs study of the requirements of family caregivers by means of in-depth interviews and observation (10) and discussion groups (3). B. Study of the eHealth services for family caregivers of elderly dependents using Google searches and reviews of the web sites selected (10).Methods: We undertook a qualitative research project in two phases: A. Ethnographic needs study of the requirements of family caregivers by means of in-depth interviews and observation (10) and discussion groups (3). B. Study of the eHealth services for family caregivers of elderly dependents using Google searches and reviews of the web sites selected (10). Results: The family caregivers studied had important requirements concerning information, education and support related with the care they give to other members of their families, with their own care and with the use of information technology and internet. The few web sites for family caregivers of elderly dependents mostly provided health information poorly related with their needs. Conclusions: At the present time, eHealth services fail to provide much help to Spanish family caregivers of elderly dependents. A series of strategies needs to be developed to enable persons involved in social and health care to benefit from the advances in information technology and communication and abandon their digital isolation.Conclusions: At the present time, eHealth services fail to provide much help to Spanish family caregivers of elderly dependents. A series of strategies needs to be developed to enable persons involved in social and health care to benefit from the advances in information technology and communication and abandon their digital isolation. KEYWORDS eHealth services; family caregivers; digital marginalization; information development | vol. | iss. | | p.1 (page number not for citation purposes) Carrión & Armayones XSL • FO RenderX