Personalized Persuasive Technologies in Health and Wellness: From Theory to Practice

Persuasive technologies for health and wellness are designed as interventions to promote desired health behaviours using various persuasive techniques. In recent years, a growing number of persuasive interventions have been used in various health domains, including mental health, physical exercise, and healthy eating. Most of these interventions take a one-size-fits-all approach. However, studies have shown that a persuasive strategy that is successful for one person may not be effective for others, indicating that persuasive interventions should be tailored to the individual and be adaptable to the user and their specific circumstances. Research indicates that an individual’s responses to persuasive strategies can be influenced by different factors, including personal characteristics (such as personality traits, age, and gender) and contextual factors (such as time, weather, and location). This chapter discusses personalizing persuasive health interventions. It first investigates the theories deployed and the personalization dimensions used in personalizing persuasive health interventions. Then, the chapter investigates how these theories are applied in practice and the different techniques used to deploy personalized persuasive health interventions, followed by a discussion about the challenges and directions for future research in this area.