From checklist to app for attuned and stimulating care for persons with intellectual disabilities: evaluation of a co-creative strategy
Creators: name: Doodeman, Tanja W. M.
name: Schuengel, Carlo
name: Sterkenburg, Paula S.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biotechnology
Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
Science Policy

description: The effective Attune and Stimulate-checklist improves sensitive responsiveness in caregivers of persons with severe intellectual disabilities. To widen access to the tool for implementation purposes, this paper describes the co-creative, iterative transformation process from checklist to app, and evaluates the user experience of this Attune &amp; Stimulate-app (A&amp;S-app). First, the A&amp;S-app development, in which 50 parents and professionals were involved, was described according to a spiral development process model. Second, the A&amp;S-app was evaluated by 15 other parents and professional caregivers of persons with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities in a three-week pre-experimental design. User experiences were investigated using semi-structured interviews and pre- and post-test social validity questionnaires. Five themes were extracted from documentation of the development process (e.g. (a) collaboration between stakeholders, software developers and researchers; (b) alternation between creating and testing; (c) benefits of digitalisation). Both the social validity ratings of the expectations (<i>M</i> = 4.01, <i>SD</i> = 0.43) and the experiences (<i>M</i> = 3.70, <i>SD</i> = 0.52) with the A&amp;S-app were positive. The interviews revealed four overarching themes: (1) the importance, reasons of use, and practical application; (2) the design, technical functioning, and other characteristics of the app (e.g. clear, concrete, flexibly applicable, and easily accessible); (3) (automated) effects on caregivers (e.g. focused observation, more awareness of emotional states); and (4) future implementation. This study resulted in a positively appraised A&amp;S-app with perceived potential to be sustainably implemented in the daily lives of parents and professionals of persons with intellectual disabilities. Co-creative, iterative app design offers a potential strategy to implement effective tools by improving its accessibility.This study resulted in the implementable, co-created, and positive appraised Attune &amp; Stimulate-app, which is based on an evidence-based intervention. The positive assessment means that improving sensitive responsiveness of caregivers via the Attune &amp; Stimulate-app is a desirable and viable approach to create more awareness of emotional states of persons with intellectual disabilities in order to support co-regulation of their emotional responses. Co-creative, iterative app design offers a potential strategy to implement effective tools by improving its accessibility. This study resulted in the implementable, co-created, and positive appraised Attune &amp; Stimulate-app, which is based on an evidence-based intervention. The positive assessment means that improving sensitive responsiveness of caregivers via the Attune &amp; Stimulate-app is a desirable and viable approach to create more awareness of emotional states of persons with intellectual disabilities in order to support co-regulation of their emotional responses.