Exploring family caregivers’ needs and influencing factors of mobile health in older adults with hip fractures rehabilitation: A qualitative study

ObjectiveTaking family caregivers as the main users of mobile health applications, comprehensively examine their needs and the influencing factors of using applications to support the rehabilitation of older patients with hip fractures.DesignA qualitative descriptive study employing semi-structured interviews was conducted to collect data between April 2025 and June 2025. The data was analysed using content analysis.SettingThe orthopaedic ward of a 3000-bed tertiary comprehensive teaching hospital in Hunan Province, China.ParticipantsPurposive sampling was conducted to select participants. A total of 21 family caregivers were finally interviewed.ResultsThe study identified two key dimensions: user needs and influencing factors, each containing six themes. User needs included content requirements (information and knowledge) and features and functionality (user information management, communication with orthopaedic surgeons, cross-platform and interdisciplinary collaboration, information delivery modalities and task reminders). Influencing factors comprised user-related (user characteristics, patient recovery outcomes, previous experiences and attitudes towards mobile health applications resources, concerns about privacy and information); technology-related (user-friendly and functional, information quality and personalisation).ConclusionThe findings of this study contribute to the development of mobile health applications tailored for family caregivers. Healthcare providers and researchers should recognise and address caregivers' needs and influencing factors to optimise application functionality, thereby enhancing patient recovery outcomes and reducing caregiver burden.