mHealth and Social Wellness Research
A collection of research work in mHealth and Social Wellness at PARC.
This research was mainly performed by the
Augmented Social Cognition (ASC) Area 2012-2014
Interactive Intelligence (I2) Area 2014-2017
continuing on with Peter Pirolli at IHMC 2017-Present
and
continuing on with Michael Youngblood 2024
Research Publications
Mohan, S. (2021). Exploring the Role of Common Model of Cognition in Designing Adaptive Coaching Interactions for Health Behavior Change . ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems (TiiS), 11(1), 1-30. doi:10.1145/3366501
Mohan, S, Venkatakrishnan, A., and Hartzler, A. (2020). Designing an AI Health Coach andStudying its Utility in Promoting Regular Aerobic Exercise. ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems (TiiS) 10, no. 2: 1-30. doi:10.1145/3366501
Pirolli, P., Youngblood, G. M., Du, H., Konrad, A., Nelson, L., & Springer, A. (2018). Scaffolding the Mastery of Healthy Behaviors with Fittle+ Systems: Evidence-Based Interventions andTheory. Human–Computer Interaction, 1-34. doi:10.1080/07370024.2018.1512414
Springer A, Venkatakrishnan A, Mohan S, Nelson L, Silva M, Pirolli P. Leveraging Self-Affirmation to Improve Behavior Change: A Mobile Health App Experiment JMIR MhealthUhealth 2018;6(7)
Pirolli P, Mohan S, Venkatakrishnan A, Nelson L, Silva M, Springer A. Implementation Intention and Reminder Effects on Behavior Change in a Mobile Health System: A Predictive Cognitive Model. J Med Internet Res 2017;19(11):e397
Hernandez, M., Sharit, J. Pirolli, P. & Czaja, S. (2017). Adapting Information Search Tools for use by Health Consumers: Challenges and Lessons for Software Designers. International Journal of Human Computer Interaction.
Mohan, S., Venkatakrishnan, A., Silva, M,. & Pirolli, P. (2017). On designing a social coach to promote regular aerobic exercise. IAAI 2017.
Pirolli, P. (2016). From good intentions to healthy habits: Towards integrated computational models of goal striving and habit formation. Annual International; Conference of the IEEEEngineering in Medicine and Biology Society.
Pirolli, P. (2016). A computational cognitive model of self-efficacy and daily adherence in mHealth. Translational behavioral medicine, 1-13.
Du, H., Venkatakrishnan, A., Youngblood, G. M., Ram, A., & Pirolli, P. (2016). A Group-BasedMobile Application to Increase Adherence in Exercise and Nutrition Programs: A Factorial Design Feasibility Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 4(1).
Konrad, A., Bellotti, V., Crenshaw, N., Tucker, S., Nelson, L., Du, H., Pirolli,P., & Whittaker, S.(2015). Finding the Adaptive Sweet Spot: Balancing Compliance and Achievement inAutomated Stress Reduction. Paper presented at the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2015), Seoul, Korea.
Spruijt-Metz, D., Nilsen, W., Kumar, S., Pirolli, P., & Youngblood, M. (2015, April). MONITORING, MEASURING, MODELING AND CHANGING BEHAVIOR IN REAL TIME. In ANNALS OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE (Vol. 49, pp. S151-S151). 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK,NY 10013 USA: SPRINGER.
Du, Youngblood, & Pirolli. (2014). Efficacy of a smartphone system to support groups in behavior change programs. Wireless Health 2014.
Lukin, S. M., Youngblood, G. M., Du, H., & Walker, M. (2014, August). Building community and commitment with a virtual coach in mobile wellness programs. In International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents (pp. 279-284). Springer, Cham.
Patents
Date: August 13, 2019
Inventor: Gregory Michael Youngblood
Title: System and Method for Providing Ambient Information to User Through Layered Visual Montage
Summary: This patent describes a system for generating a visual montage, determining multiple layers each associated with a time range. The system assigns graphical objects to these layers based on constraints and ambient event information, then displays the visual montage on a screen.
Date: February 20, 2018
Inventors: Ashwin Ram, Gregory Michael Youngblood, Peter L. Pirolli, Lester D. Nelson, Jesse Vig, Shane P. Ahern, Jonathan Rubin, Christina Pavlopoulou
Title: Method and a System for Providing Hosted Services Based on a Generalized Model of a Health/Wellness Program
Summary: This patent outlines a system for creating health/wellness programs on a generic platform. It involves receiving definitions, constructing a model, generating a program instance, and associating it with health/wellness modules.
Date: June 6, 2017
Inventors: Jonathan Rubin, Gregory Michael Youngblood, Ashwin Ram, Peter L. Pirolli, Jesse Vig, Shane P. Ahern, Lester D. Nelson
Recognition: PARC Golden Acorn Recipient
Title: System and Method for Automatic Objective Reporting via Wearable Sensors
Summary: The patent provides a system for automatic reporting on progress in objectives using data from wearable or mobile device sensors, pushing alerts to a device upon completion of objectives, milestones, or goals.
Patent Pending, Application #15130770
Date: October 19, 2017
Inventors: Ashwin Ram, Gregory Michael Youngblood, Lester D. Nelson, Anusha Venkatakrishnan, Peter L. Pirolli, Michael K. Silva, Shiwali Mohan
Title: System and Method to Create, Monitor, and Adapt Individualized Multidimensional Health Programs
Summary: This application describes a system that delivers a multidimensional wellness coaching program, modifies it based on user input and sensor data, and provides a coaching recommendation.
Patent Pending, Application #14668682
Date: September 29, 2016
Inventors: Ashwin Ram, Lester D. Nelson, Gregory Michael Youngblood, Peter L. Pirolli
Title: System and Method for Providing Individualized Health and Wellness Coaching
Summary: This application details a system that generates healthcare suggestions based on user's communications, identifies health-related issues, and updates suggestions based on ongoing monitoring of user communications.
External Grants
NIH Award 5R01AG053163-04 (R-01)
Title: A Personalized Health Behavior System to Promote Well-Being in Older Adults
Summary: The project addresses the needs of the aging U.S. population, which is expected to increase significantly by 2040. It focuses on vulnerable groups such as the oldest old, minorities, and those of lower Socio-Economic status (SES), who are at risk for social isolation, poor diet, and decreased physical activity. The study will utilize mobile and tablet-based technologies to deliver personalized behavior-change programs and social support. The Fittle Senior System (FSS) developed will provide online social interactions and adaptively coach users for better diet and increased physical activity.
Study Phases:
Phase 1: Development and pilot testing with representative samples of older adults.
Phase 2: Two-group randomized trial comparing FSS against a paper-based educational control, including a 12-week active intervention followed by a 12-week maintenance phase.
Participants: 180 community-dwelling adults aged 65+ who live alone and are at risk for social isolation.
Assessments: Participants will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (3 months), and post-maintenance (6 months) for health behaviors and social support.
Public Health Relevance: The project aims to improve management of chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity among diverse older adults through a technology-based intervention.
SCH: INT: Collaborative Research: FITTLE+: Theory and Models for Smartphone Ecological Momentary Intervention
Summary: This interdisciplinary project aims to refine and extend existing health behavior change theories into fine-grained, predictive computational models for use in smartphone platforms. Fittle+ will utilize Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) to enhance diet and physical activity through autonomously planned personalized coaching and social support, utilizing mobile sensing and cognitive tutoring.
Challenge: The project seeks to overcome limitations in current behavior-change methodologies by leveraging the capabilities of smartphones for detailed measurement and intervention.
Research Team: Includes experts in mobile sensing, artificial intelligence, computational cognition, social psychology, human-computer interaction, computer tutoring, and measurement theory.
Collaboration: The research involves collaboration with weight-loss interventionists at a major health organization in Hawaii.
Featured: NSF Research News, July 24, 2015
Goal: Develop a scientific smartphone tool that supports personalized health interventions based on individual user data and predictive models.
Code
Open source Fittle code (primarily for Fittle Silver) - GitHub