Cost to develop persuasion in health behavior change support systems: A weight management app scenario

Abstract

Abstract

Health Behavior Change Support Systems (HBCSS) have garnered popularity due to their intentional design to influence lifestyles and foster lasting behavioral changes. The Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) model highlights the capacity of persuasive software features to enhance the systems’ ability to influence people’s behavior, which holds significant promise, for instance, in reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. In the medical field, HBCSS have been recognized as efficient, cost-effective, and scalable with minimal costs compared to traditional face-to-face interventions for preventing such diseases. However, every new technology comes with significant development and maintenance costs, which can either facilitate or hinder its wider adoption. The development cost may even be neglected altogether. Even if the cost was addressed somehow, evaluation methods often focus on the overall cost rather than carefully addressing the development cost of specific software functionalities and features. It is critical to make well-informed design choices rather than develop all the features that come into the designers’ minds. This study conducted semi-structured expert interviews and applied the Weight Sum Model (WSM) to investigate the perceived cost implications for developing persuasive features in a weight management app. The results highlight that social and primary support features may require more financial resources to be developed than dialogue and credibility support features. Personalization and tailoring were perceived as the most expensive features due to their complex development nature. Furthermore, the results provide insights for developing HBCSS and cost-saving strategies that are important for healthcare providers, policymakers, and stakeholders in making informed decisions.