Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions

Research and development for interactive digital health interventions requires multi-disciplinary expertise in identifying user needs, and developing and evaluating each intervention. Two of the central areas of expertise required are Health (broadly defined) and Human–Computer Interaction. Although...

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Main Authors: Ann Blandford, Jo Gibbs, Nikki Newhouse, Olga Perski, Aneesha Singh, Elizabeth Murray
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2018-05-01
Series:Digital Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207618770325
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author Ann Blandford
Jo Gibbs
Nikki Newhouse
Olga Perski
Aneesha Singh
Elizabeth Murray
author_facet Ann Blandford
Jo Gibbs
Nikki Newhouse
Olga Perski
Aneesha Singh
Elizabeth Murray
author_sort Ann Blandford
collection DOAJ
description Research and development for interactive digital health interventions requires multi-disciplinary expertise in identifying user needs, and developing and evaluating each intervention. Two of the central areas of expertise required are Health (broadly defined) and Human–Computer Interaction. Although these share some research methods and values, they traditionally have deep differences that can catch people unawares, and make interdisciplinary collaborations challenging, resulting in sub-optimal project outcomes. The most widely discussed is the contrast between formative evaluation (emphasised in Human–Computer Interaction) and summative evaluation (emphasised in Health research). However, the differences extend well beyond this, from the nature of accepted evidence to the culture of reporting. In this paper, we present and discuss seven lessons that we have learned about the contrasting cultures, values, assumptions and practices of Health and Human–Computer Interaction. The lessons are structured according to a research lifecycle, from establishing the state of the art for a given digital intervention, moving through the various (iterative) stages of development, evaluation and deployment, through to reporting research results. Although our focus is on enabling people from different disciplinary backgrounds to work together with better mutual understanding, we also highlight ways in which future research in this interdisciplinary space could be better supported.
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spelling doaj.art-08ac0d74da0f4e0990a68dbb4ec394a42022-12-21T19:05:39ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762018-05-01410.1177/2055207618770325Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventionsAnn Blandford0Jo Gibbs1Nikki Newhouse2Olga Perski3Aneesha Singh4Elizabeth Murray5UCL Interaction Centre, , UKUCL Centre for Population Research in Sexual Health & HIV, Institute of Global Health, UKeHealth Unit, Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, , Royal Free Hospital, UKUCL Interaction Centre, , UKUCL Interaction Centre, , UKeHealth Unit, Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, , Royal Free Hospital, UKResearch and development for interactive digital health interventions requires multi-disciplinary expertise in identifying user needs, and developing and evaluating each intervention. Two of the central areas of expertise required are Health (broadly defined) and Human–Computer Interaction. Although these share some research methods and values, they traditionally have deep differences that can catch people unawares, and make interdisciplinary collaborations challenging, resulting in sub-optimal project outcomes. The most widely discussed is the contrast between formative evaluation (emphasised in Human–Computer Interaction) and summative evaluation (emphasised in Health research). However, the differences extend well beyond this, from the nature of accepted evidence to the culture of reporting. In this paper, we present and discuss seven lessons that we have learned about the contrasting cultures, values, assumptions and practices of Health and Human–Computer Interaction. The lessons are structured according to a research lifecycle, from establishing the state of the art for a given digital intervention, moving through the various (iterative) stages of development, evaluation and deployment, through to reporting research results. Although our focus is on enabling people from different disciplinary backgrounds to work together with better mutual understanding, we also highlight ways in which future research in this interdisciplinary space could be better supported.https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207618770325
spellingShingle Ann Blandford
Jo Gibbs
Nikki Newhouse
Olga Perski
Aneesha Singh
Elizabeth Murray
Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
Digital Health
title Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
title_full Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
title_fullStr Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
title_full_unstemmed Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
title_short Seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
title_sort seven lessons for interdisciplinary research on interactive digital health interventions
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207618770325
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