Optimizing multi-channel health information delivery for behavioral change

The healthcare field is facing new challenges and opportunities with an upsurge of telehealth and remote monitoring solutions. Hospitals are working with the private industry to develop Web-based solutions that augment primary care once patients leave the clinical setting. As technology enables healthcare to shift from treatment centers to home environments, new approaches are needed to tailor health-related content and delivery at the individual level. This paper presents methods for personalizing communications for a web-based behavioral change support system. Research has shown patients are more likely to continually use systems that present personally relevant content closely resembling traditional healthcare. We performed a two-part feasibility study to investigate the hypothesis that personalized content leads to higher continued use of a telehealth system. In the study, participants interacted with a Web-based application that presents questions and information concerning exercise. Logistic regression and collaborative filtering were used to develop personalized content strategies for participants in the second part of the study. We successfully implemented the content strategies in an existing third-party software system, but the study was small and lacked proper power to draw significant, externally valid results.