Summary
Creating Digital Well-being
Merlijn Smits
AIM: The paradigm of evidence-based healthcare does not enable digital health to reach successful implementation. A novel paradigm is needed.
METHOD: The methodology Values That Matter aims to develop successful digital health technologies that improve the well-being of users. The method consists of three phases: Explore, Conceptualize, and Anticipate. In Explore, the value framework of each user is constructed to understand what values of well-being are important within the defined context. Conceptualize aims at embodying the values of well-being into the design of the novel technology. Anticipate consists of anticipating on the effects of the novel technology on the values of the users by means of pilot studies.
FINDINGS: Explore Patients and volunteers value autonomy, social support, safety, privacy, and comfort during hospitalization. Conceptualize Values are translated into norms and design requirements via the development of an artificial intelligence model. Anticipate Two pilot studies in virtual reality show how to optimize technology to patients’ values.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Amid the increasingly growing shortage of healthcare personnel, it is time for a change. A paradigm shift is needed in healthcare to successfully implement digital health technologies. Only by then, ‘health’ can move from a focus on ‘absence of disease’ to ‘well-being’.
Keywords: Well-being, digital health, ethics, evidence-based healthcare
