The importance that physical movement holds for people’s health is not up for debate. Staying active can alleviate a lot of symptoms, both physical and mental, that occur in both young and old, due to a sedentary lifestyle or to aging. Because of the way the society is developing, more and more people suffer from a sedentary lifestyle. Among all age groups, the older people have an especially high risk for negative side effects of too much sedentary time. The World Health Organization encourages countries to help combat the sedentary lifestyles and motivate people to exercise more. In their efforts to make sure people across countries have access to health information they also encourage the development of digital health tools and the use of eHealth, which falls under the umbrella term digital health. To create the lifestyle changes needed to become and stay more physically active there can be a need for motivational factors such as triggers, reminders and other motivators. Persuasive design in general and nudges in particular have the function where they will nudge people towards making a behavior change without removing the autonomy of the person. As the older people in Sweden are generally both digital and eHealth literate and are able to handle health related matters such as booking appointments and reading their health journal online, we see a possibility to examine the area of nudging the older towards a behavior change that leads to increased physical activity. Thus, in this study we examine to what extent digital nudges impact physical activities and related conditions, we chose a within subject design experiment which had two conditions – with and without a mobile application that offers digital nudges during two weeks of time period. In our study the test subjects are people above 65 years old as this group of people would greatly benefit from more physical activity and the study of how digital nudges would affect the older population in Sweden is an understudied area. The participants in one of the groups were nudged, using nudges such as the position effects, social norm and framing effects. A dependent t test was conducted and depending on the alpha level used, there was a statistical significance shown. Overall the amount of physical activity in older adults having a prototype with nudges was significantly higher. The results for this study are relevant to some degree since this is not something that has been studied before.

Previous research on augmented reality has to great extent been focusing on exploring and expanding technical possibilities without considering what users find to be desirable and useful. By using the inspirational bits method and the limitations of current AR technologies as a source of inspiration, this research makes use of the existing technical knowledge on AR for inspiring new ideas on how to use AR. The inspirational bits method aims to increase the understanding of a material by letting the participants experience a specific feature of a technology called bit and thereby making the technology more tangible. A set of inspirational bits was designed, developed and used in workshops to inspire ideas on how to use AR for future health applications. Two technical concepts were highlighted in the bits, detection of real objects and placement of digital objects in the real environment. Two types of experiences were also highlighted in one bit each; annotation experiences where additional information is attached to physical objects and visualization experiences where users interact with a virtual object. The bits were explored in workshops followed by a rapid brainstorming session to quickly get their ideas down to paper. It seems to have been easier to come up with ideas on annotation experiences compared to visualization experiences which might be due to their initial expectation that AR will be used as a tool for adding digital interactions to the real world, similar to how annotated experiences work. Since a lot of the topics used were about external objects affecting one’s body and health, annotated experiences might be more appropriate as it can be used to attach private information to public objects. / Tidigare forskning om förstärkt verklighet har i stor utsträckning fokuserat på att utforska och expandera tekniska möjligheter utan att ta hänsyn till vad användarna tycker är önskvärt och användbart. Genom att använda Inspirational Bits metoden och begränsningarna av nuvarande AR-teknik som inspirationskälla använder denna forskning den befintliga tekniska kunskapen om AR för inspirera till nya idéer om hur man kan använda AR. Inspirational Bits metoden syftar till att öka förståelsen av ett material genom att låta deltagarna uppleva en specifik egenskap hos en teknik, kallad bit, och därigenom göra tekniken mer konkret. En uppsättning Inspirational Bits har designats, utvecklats och använts i workshops för att inspirera idéer om hur man kan använda AR i framtida hälsoapplikationer. Två tekniska koncept lyfts fram, detektion av verkliga objekt och placering av digitala objekt i en verklig miljö. Två typer av upplevelser lyfts också fram; annoteringsupplevelser där ytterligare information är kopplad till fysiska objekt och visualiseringsupplevelser där användare interagerar med ett virtuellt objekt. Bitarna utforskades i workshops följt av en snabb brainstorming för att snabbt få deltagarnas idéer på papper. Det verkar ha varit lättare att komma på idéer om annoteringsupplevelser jämfört med visualiseringserfarenheter vilket kan bero på att deltagarna förväntade att AR kommer att användas som ett verktyg för att åstadkomma digitala interaktioner i den verkliga världen, liknande hur annoteringsupplevelser fungerar. Eftersom många av de hälsoämnen som togs upp handlar om externa föremål som påverkar kroppen och hälsan kan annoteringsupplevelser vara mer lämpliga eftersom det kan användas för att fästa privat information till offentliga objekt.

The healthcare and life sciences sectors are currently undergoing a transition towards becoming digitized. Mobile health (mHealth), a subset of digital health, offers many potential benefits to healthcare. Despite that, it has been reported that the majority of mHealth initiatives do not evolve beyond the pilot stage. A core reason seems to be the lack of user-centered value propositions in mHealth projects. Here, we evaluate if the use of the principles of design thinking (DT) can endorse the creation process of user-centered value propositions. For that, several scoping meetings with experts on topics of relevance were carried out, which helped define the scope, the methodology, and formulate the research question in the optimal direction. Interviews with the founders of four startups that operate in the mHealth industry constituted the basis of the findings, with the product or service development process as the central aspect. A framework for DT was employed to analyze the cases, which proposes five themes that should be considered throughout the process: User Focus, Problem Framing, Experimentation, Visualization and Diversity. Our research shows that the use of DT principles can help achieve more valuable outcomes (e.g. more user-centered value propositions), be more efficient and collaborate better. Nevertheless, more knowledge about DT is needed among entrepreneurs, as well as a more uniform consideration of the five themes of DT.

Politikwissenschaftliche Studien der vergangenen Jahre stellen fest, dass das deutsche und österreichische Gesundheitswesen eher reformresistent sind. Anhand der Einführung der elektronischen Kartensysteme im deutschen und österreichischen Gesundheitswesen zeigt diese Dissertation, dass gesundheitspolitische Reformschritte möglich sind. Durch ein vergleichendes Forschungsdesign werden anhand der zwei relativ ähnlich strukturierten Staaten Deutschland und Österreich mit dennoch relevanten Unterschieden im Politikfeld Gesundheit Theorien aus der vergleichenden Policy-Forschung und der Staatstätigkeitsforschung auf ihre Erklärungskraft hin untersucht. Durch eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring und die Auswertung von Experteninterviews werden die Bestimmungsfaktoren für den gesundheitspolitischen Wandel analysiert. Auf Grund der Abweichung dieser Dissertation (Reformmöglichkeit) von bisherigen empirischen Ergebnissen (Reformresistenz) aus dem Bereich der Gesundheitspolitologie, leistet die in dieser Arbeit vorgenommene Erklärung von politischem Wandel einen Beitrag zur politikwissenschaftlichen Forschung. Die Dissertation zeigt, dass eine Kombination von Theoriemodulen aus der vergleichenden Staatstätigkeitsforschung und der Policy-Forschung die Einführung der elektronischen Kartensysteme im deutschen und österreichischen Gesundheitswesen sinnvoll erklären kann. Die Arbeit stellt dar, dass der politische Wandel vor allem bis zur Phase der Implementation im Politikzyklus in beiden Staaten zügig möglich war. Geänderte Machtverhältnisse, die Verteilung von Machtressourcen zwischen den Interessengruppen im Politikfeld, vormals getroffene politische Entscheidungen und selbstverstärkende Mechanismen, das Engagement "neuer" Akteure im Subsystem, sowie gebundene Rationalitäten der politischen Entscheider sind die maßgeblichen Gründe, welche die Einführung des elektronischen Kartensystems im deutschen und im österreichischen Gesundheitswesen veranlassten.

The complex process of patient placement within a hospital is a big challenge. The main focus in the process is how to coordinate clinics to make sure that the patients get the best possible care. The rise of digital health has led to a greater use of technologies to facilitate the activities within the hospitals’ processes. This study has been focusing on how Internet of Things can be used in the patient placement process. Respondents to participate in the interviews were chosen with help from a coordinator based on their experience within the study area of interest. Observations were done in meetings where the staff discussed patient placements. From a perspective of problem based coordination, a thematic analysis was done on the collected data and from the themes that were created a solution was presented. The object of this study is to map the process of patient placement and to present an analytic approach on how to facilitate the patient placement process with the use of Internet of Things. Our proposed approach will contribute to a greater understanding of the patient placement process and how Internet of Things can be used within it.

This dissertation explores how people address problems of real human concern in situations of complexity, ambiguity, uniqueness, conflicting values and rapid change. Such circumstances stretch formal and idealistic rules and procedures to the breaking point. And yet, people in a variety of fields work through such difficulties in a pragmatic manner, at times finding ways to assert their humanity. Sensemaking and human- centred design are related activities through which many people approach such work. Through cases in digital innovation, global health care delivery and an unlikely voyage of the Amazon River, this portfolio shows that they are relevant to a wide range of settings. Rather than isolating the components or key variables of such work and taking their measure, this research advances a more holistic view of sensemaking and designing as sociomaterial practices. My research is grounded in performing the phenomenon of study, offering insights from complex practice rather than a spectator’s study of it. This ethnographic approach has yielded theoretical contributions related to designing for the emergence of practices, embodied sensemaking, a more substantive notion of what it means to be ‘human’ centred and more pragmatic ways of investigating sociomaterial practices. By discussing sensemaking and human-centred design as antidotes to failures of imagination in global health and development, this dissertation suggests a distinctive perspective on why these topics matter for the health of poor and marginalized people around the world.

This paper aims to investigate women’s experience of digital technology as a contraceptive. Research on the female body has not always been a natural part of human– computer interaction (HCI) research but is beginning to be seen through various aids in menstruation, pregnancy and likewise (Balaam, 2017). In 2017, a mobile application was approved as a contraceptive in Sweden and by that, digital technology took a step into the industry of contraceptives (Suni, 2017). The product is made by the company Natural Cycles, which therefore has become the natural focus of this paper. This study was created to find out how women experience the first fully technological contraceptive, focusing on trust through interfaces and experience design. To answer the purpose of the study, a questionnaire was created and a focus group interview was held, where one of the participants was asked to write a diary for one week to document her feelings and thoughts about her use of Natural Cycles.The results from the survey showed that about half of the respondents trust Natural Cycles and may be interested in trying the product. The other half says that they do not trust the products safety. The results from involved a simple interface and good marketing with a lot of information about statistics. The answers also showed that those who didn’t trust digital technology as contraceptives lacked truthful information about studies and use. / Denna uppsats ämnar att undersöka kvinnors upplevelse av digital teknik som preventivmedel. Forskning kring kvinnokroppen har inte alltid varit en naturlig del av människa–datorinteraktion (MDI), men börjar synas genom olika hjälpmedelsapplikationer vid menstruation, graviditeter och dylikt (Balaam, 2017). År 2017 blev en mobilapplikation godkänd som preventivmedel i Sverige och då tog också den digitala tekniken ett steg in i preventivmedelsbranschen (Suni, 2017). Produkten ges ut av företaget Natural Cycles, vilket också har blivit det naturliga fokuset för denna uppsats. Denna studie skapades för att ta redapå hur kvinnorna upplever det första helt digital tekniska preventivmedlet, med fokus på tillit genom gränssnitt och upplevelsedesign. För att besvara studiens syfte skapades en enkät och en fokusgruppsintervju, där en av deltagarna dessutom ombads skriva en loggbok under en vecka för att dokumentera känslor och tankar kring sitt användande av Natural Cycles.Resultatet från enkäten visade på att ungefär hälften av de svarande känner tillit till Natural Cycles och kan tänka sig att testa produkten. Den andra halvan anger att de inte tror på produktens säkerhet. Ett sammanlagt resultat från fokusgruppen, enkäten och loggboken visade på att en viktig del för tilliten är ett enkelt gränssnitt och en god marknadsföring med mycket information kring statistik. Resultatet visade också på att de som inte kände förtroende för digital teknik som preventivmedel saknade sanningsenlig information kring studier och användande.

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are increasing worldwide due to unhealthy lifestyle habits. Behavior change support systems (BCSS) are a new means of promoting a sustainable lifestyle change. These systems are more effective when behavior change theories are applied. The aim of this thesis to integrate well-known behavior change theories into a conceptual model of behavior change progress to form the basis for the BCSS. The research question of this thesis is: what parameters of behavior change should be included in a conceptual model of behavior change progress? The model was created by integrating concepts and their relationships from existing behavior change theories. Next, the model was the validated by experts in behavior change. The outcome is a conceptual framework that can be function as a tool for understanding causal relationship between behavior change concepts, for presenting feedback, and building automated assessments. Furthermore, the model extends already existing knowledge networks.

The purpose of this study is to produce new knowledge concerning the perceived user’s value generated using machine learning technologies that activate data network effects factors that create value through various business model themes. The data network effects theory represents a set of factors that increase the user’s perceived value for a platform that uses artificial intelligence capabilities. The study followed an abductive research approach where initially found facts were matched against the data network effects theory to be put in context and understood. The study’s data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with experts who were active within the research area and chosen based on their practical experience and their role in the digitization of the healthcare sector. The results show that three out of six factors were fully realized contributing to value creation while two of the factors showed to be partially realized in order to contribute to value creation and that is justified by the exclusion of users' perspectives in the scope of the research. Lastly, only one factor has limited contribution to the value creation due to the heavy regulations limiting its realization in the health sector. It is concluded that data network effects moderators contributed differently in the activation of various business model themes for value creation in a general manner where further studies should apply the theory in the assessment of one specific AI health offering to take full advantage of the theory potential. The theoretical implications showed that the data network factors may not necessarily be equally activated to contribute to value creation which was not initially highlighted by the theory. Additionally, the practical implications of the study’s results may help managers in their decision-making process on which factors to be activated for which business model theme.

Migraine is ranked as the third most widespread disease in the world by Global burden of Disease and study 2010. To reduce pressure on health care and also help patientsunderstand their condition, mobile health applications have become increasingly popularand accessible. These applications help by providing disease information, to documentsymptoms and analyze attack patterns. However, there is both a lack of patient centeredperspective and scientific based knowledge behind the design of these applications. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore what might affect the patients’ motivationto use a mobile application to explore their condition. This by looking into how these applications can be designed so that patients’ find them helpful and easy to use. This wasdone by doing a qualitative interview study with ten patients with severe migraine andanalyzing the transcribed data through a reflexive thematic analysis. The thematic analysis resulted in three overarching themes personal motivations of exploring migraine, healthcare related motivations of exploring migraine, and technical support for motivation of exploringmigraine. Each overarching theme contained themes and sub-themes that are backed up byquotes in the data from the interviews. Also a proposal on how to visualize the threeoverarching themes in relation to each other is presented.In conclusion, designing applications that help with acceptance of condition, adaptivecontent and functionality, and deciding on a specific target patient group, are central findings of this study. Directives from health care was found to be the largest motivationaldrive in this study and could further be explored to work better with migraine applications.