Is Famileo a Good Option For Family Caregiver and Their Loved Ones? By Jenerations Intern Jannette Escobar

Famileo (www.famileo.com)  is a mobile application designed to connect families with older loved ones who may not possess advanced technological skills. The user experience is focused on providing an easy-to-use platform that encourages family members to stay connected and engaged with each other. There is a version for persons who reside in senior living communities and nursing homes, as well as a version for older adults who live at home. The team at Jenerations Health Education, Inc, where I am doing a social work internship, had the opportunity to “demo” the version for older adults who live at home to see if we wanted to recommend it to family caregivers.

When users first sign up for Famileo, they create a family group and invite their loved ones to join. Once the group is established, users can share photos and messages with their family members through the app. The group established is a closed group, so it makes what you share feel private and more intimate. Famileo allows users to choose who can see their posts and provides a timeline of all the shared content, making it easy to browse through past updates.

Our team at Jenerations Health Education signed up to keep in contact with our “Aunt Sue”. I uploaded a profile picture, and started a post. Initially, I thought that it may be just like other social media platforms, but after using for a few weeks I felt the difference. There wasn’t all the other noise of social media. The posts with me and my “family” were targeted specifically to “Aunt Sue” and the sentiment began to tell its own story.

One of the unique features of Famileo is its ability to turn digital updates into a physical newspaper that is sent to older family members who may not be as comfortable with technology. The app collects all the shared content over a period of time and creates a personalized physical newspaper that can be sent directly to their door. Seeing a copy of the newspaper that was compiled for “Aunt Sue” was like looking at an old photo album.

Overall, Famileo’s user experience is designed to be intuitive and simple. The app’s clean interface makes it easy to navigate, and its thoughtful features make it a valuable tool for families looking to stay connected in a meaningful way. The team at Jenerations Health Education, Inc. agreed it was a great resource for family members wanting to meaningfully connect with older loved ones.