User Centered Virtual Coaching for Older Adults at Home Using SMART Goal Plans and I-Change Model

Andoni Beristain Iraola, Roberto Álvarez Sánchez, Santiago Hors-Fraile, Despoina Petsani, Michail Timoleon, Unai Díaz-Orueta, Joanne Carroll, Louise Hopper, Gorka Epelde, Jon Kerexeta, Panagiotis D. Bamidis and Evdokimos I. Konstantinidis
Additional contact information
Andoni Beristain Iraola: Digital Health & Biomedical Technologies Department, Vicomtech Foundation, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Mikeletegi 57, 20009 San Sebastián, Spain
Roberto Álvarez Sánchez: Digital Health & Biomedical Technologies Department, Vicomtech Foundation, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Mikeletegi 57, 20009 San Sebastián, Spain
Santiago Hors-Fraile: Salumedia Labs, Research Division of Adhera Health, Inc., Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Despoina Petsani: Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Michail Timoleon: Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Unai Díaz-Orueta: Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth W23 F2H6, Co. Kildare R51, Ireland
Joanne Carroll: School of Psychology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
Louise Hopper: School of Psychology, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
Gorka Epelde: Digital Health & Biomedical Technologies Department, Vicomtech Foundation, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Mikeletegi 57, 20009 San Sebastián, Spain
Jon Kerexeta: Digital Health & Biomedical Technologies Department, Vicomtech Foundation, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Mikeletegi 57, 20009 San Sebastián, Spain
Panagiotis D. Bamidis: Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Evdokimos I. Konstantinidis: Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-24

Abstract: Preventive care and telemedicine are expected to play an important role in reducing the impact of an increasingly aging global population while increasing the number of healthy years. Virtual coaching is a promising research area to support this process. This paper presents a user-centered virtual coach for older adults at home to promote active and healthy aging and independent living. It supports behavior change processes for improving on cognitive, physical, social interaction and nutrition areas using specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited (SMART) goal plans, following the I-Change behavioral change model. Older adults select and personalize which goal plans to join from a catalog designed by domain experts. Intervention delivery adapts to user preferences and minimizes intrusiveness in the user’s daily living using a combination of a deterministic algorithm and incremental machine learning model. The home becomes an augmented reality environment, using a combination of projectors, cameras, microphones and support sensors, where common objects are used for projection and sensed. Older adults interact with this virtual coach in their home in a natural way using speech and body gestures on projected user interfaces with common objects at home. This paper presents the concept from the older adult and the caregiver perspectives. Then, it focuses on the older adult view, describing the tools and processes available to foster a positive behavior change process, including a discussion about the limitations of the current implementation.

Keywords: virtual coaching; data visualization; incremental machine learning; feature engineering; self-management; healthy and active aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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