How to evaluate technologies for health behavior change in HCI research

TLDR

New technologies aimed at promoting physical activity, healthy diet, and other health behaviors are increasingly common in HCI, yet how to evaluate them remains unclear. This paper argues that simply measuring behavior change is too limited and proposes that HCI research should instead assess the efficacy of specific behavior‑change strategies and users’ experiences with the technology. The authors suggest evaluating efficacy through studies tailored to the intervention strategies (e.g., self‑monitoring, conditioning) embodied in the system and by gaining deep insight into users’ experiences.

Abstract

New technologies for encouraging physical activity, healthy diet, and other types of health behavior change now frequently appear in the HCI literature. Yet, how such technologies should be evaluated within the context of HCI research remains unclear. In this paper, we argue that the obvious answer to this question - that evaluations should assess whether a technology brought about the intended change in behavior - is too limited. We propose that demonstrating behavior change is often infeasible as well as unnecessary for a meaningful contribution to HCI research, especially when in the early stages of design or when evaluating novel technologies. As an alternative, we suggest that HCI contributions should focus on efficacy evaluations that are tailored to the specific behavior-change intervention strategies (e.g., self-monitoring, conditioning) embodied in the system and studies that help gain a deep understanding of people's experiences with the technology.