Time to act mature-Gearing eHealth evaluations towards technology readiness levels.

It is challenging to design a proper eHealth evaluation. In our opinion, the evaluation of eHealth should be a continuous process, wherein increasingly mature versions of the technology are put to the test. In this article, we present a model for continuous eHealth evaluation, geared towards technology maturity.

Patient Values Associated with an Exergame Supporting COPD Treatment.

Exercise games (exergames) can help COPD patients stay active and prevent exacerbation. When evaluating such exergames, patient values are an important variable to take into account. In this study, seven COPD patients used an exergame technology at the physiotherapist for six months.

Improving usability benchmarking for the eHealth domain: The development of the eHealth UsaBility Benchmarking instrument (HUBBI).

Background: Currently, most usability benchmarking tools used within the eHealth domain are based on re-classifications of old usability frameworks or generic usability surveys. This makes them outdated and not well suited for the eHealth domain. Recently, a new ontology of usability factors was developed for the eHealth domain.

Conceptualizing Usability for the eHealth Context: Content Analysis of Usability Problems of eHealth Applications.

Background: Usability tests can be either formative (where the aim is to detect usability problems) or summative (where the aim is to benchmark usability). There are ample formative methods that consider user characteristics and contexts (ie, cognitive walkthroughs, interviews, and verbal protocols). This is especially valuable for eHealth applications, as health conditions can influence user-system interactions.

Designing a stakeholder-inclusive service model for an eHealth service to support older adults in an active and social life.

Background: Service model design is slowly being recognized among eHealth developers as a valuable method for creating durable implementation strategies. Nonetheless, practical guidelines and case-studies that inform the community on how to design a service model for an eHealth innovation are lacking. This study describes the development of a service model for an eHealth service, titled 'SALSA', which intends to support older adults with a physically active and socially inclusive lifestyle.

Contextual Health Information Behavior in the Daily Lives of People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Diary Study in Scotland.

Changes in lifestyle can have positive effects on treating type 2 diabetes (T2D), like sporting or healthy eating. Therefore, a person diagnosed with T2D is often advised to make healthy choices throughout the day, in addition to other interventions such as medication. To do this, he or she needs health information to support decision-making.

Embodied Conversational Agent Appearance for Health Assessment of Older Adults: Explorative Study.

Background: Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) have great potential for health apps but are rarely investigated as part of such apps. To promote the uptake of health apps, we need to understand how the design of ECAs can influence the preferences, motivation, and behavior of users.

Objective: This is one of the first studies that investigates how the appearance of an ECA implemented within a health app affects users' likeliness of following agent advice, their perception of agent characteristics, and their feeling of rapport.

Tailoring Persuasive Electronic Health Strategies for Older Adults on the Basis of Personal Motivation: Web-Based Survey Study.

Background: Persuasive design, in which the aim is to change attitudes and behaviors by means of technology, is an important aspect of electronic health (eHealth) design. However, selecting the right persuasive feature for an individual is a delicate task and is likely to depend on individual characteristics. Personalization of the persuasive strategy in an eHealth intervention therefore seems to be a promising approach.

Assessing usability of eHealth technology: A comparison of usability benchmarking instruments.

Background: It is generally assumed that usability benchmarking instruments are technology agnostic. The same methods for usability evaluations are used for digital commercial, educational, governmental and healthcare systems. However, eHealth technologies have unique characteristics.