Technology continues to make our lives so much easier, and caregivers are no exception. Whether you’re tracking medications, using a rideshare app, communicating with doctors and family members, or looking for ways to destress your life, there are apps for your needs.
We’ve found some of the newest and best apps to make your caregiving job a little easier to do and make your senior’s life better. (And don’t forget to check out the previous list of recommended apps for caregivers.)
Caregiven
Caregiven offers support in diverse ways to caregivers and seniors. By making seniors’ complex issues more accessible, Caregiven promises to make life more manageable for everyone connected to the older adult—from primary caregivers to long-distance family members.
Some of the features include:
- Documents: The documents feature takes the emotionally and legally complicated paperwork involved with aging, medical care and end-of-life decisions and makes them easier to understand and access through embedded links and guides.
- CareCircle: Create a caregiving circle at different levels of involvement for family and friends to keep everyone involved and informed.
- Trusted Guidance: Reach out to the Caregiven community chatbot for feedback, help and information on many topics commonly searched by users.
Availability: App Store and Google Play
Caretrainr
Caretrainr offers something different from most other caregiver apps: the ability to make videos to help caregivers see how and what needs to be done for their loved ones. For example, suppose your senior prefers to have their sandwiches made a particular way. In that case, you can make a video of you or someone else preparing it just the way they like it for your caregiver – or multiple caregivers – to reference.
Caretrainr also offers a daily notes feature to update caregivers on developments with their clients and any changes that need to be made.
Availability: App Store
I-Ally
The founder of the app I-Ally, Lucinda Koza, is a Millennial primary caregiver who didn’t feel that traditional apps were created with her generation in mind. Yet, one in four caregivers are Millennials—10 million people ages 26 to 41.
It’s free to sign up and explore I-Ally’s resources for connecting with others and finding help with caregiving tasks. In addition, they’ve partnered with several companies, including Instacart and Rare Patient Voice, to give discounts and opportunities to earn extra money.
I-Ally wants to empower Millennials to get the help they need to be the best caregivers possible in a way that works best for them and how they interact and communicate.
Availability: Website
PainScale
The CDC reports an estimated 30% of older adults suffer from chronic pain, meaning they felt pain “most days” or “every day.” Managing chronic pain and communicating effectively with your older adult’s doctors about their pain levels can be tricky because you’re trying to interpret their explanation of their pain level—or they’re trying to explain it themselves.
PainScale offers ways to track pain, spot patterns of pain, and communicate clearly with medical personnel about location, type and pain levels each day. You can keep a record for office visits with doctors to make it easier for them to understand the pain your senior is experiencing.
Availability: App Store and Google Play
Sanvello
The Sanvello app isn’t really about caregiving for your older adult; it’s an app that instead helps caregivers take care of themselves. So, if you’re struggling with anxiety, loneliness, job issues (paid or not), burnout or other symptoms of exhaustion, Sanvello promises to help. The app offers tools for self-care, as well as a supportive community and coaching. (Some options are fee-based.)
You can keep track of your emotional ups and downs as a caregiver with the Sanvello app and learn how to manage your stress and give yourself as much care and compassion as you give to your loved one.
Availability: App Store and Google Play
