Motivational Technologies: A Theoretical Framework for Designing Preventive Health Applications

摘要

Every day, millions of people seek health information online, but we still do not know how to create websites or mobile applications that could motivate them to change their health-related behaviors in a proactive manner. There is a big difference between learning about one's health status and doing something about it. In order to bridge this gap, we provide a theoretical framework for designing Motivational Technologies. We discuss how three affordances of modern media interfaces-navigability, interactivity, and customization-could be used to enhance individuals' intrinsic motivation for preventive health, based on self-determination theory. Empirical evidence and design guidelines discussed here could lead to significant advances in health information systems aimed at promoting preventive health behaviors.