As the ageing population continues to grow, health and social care services face increasing demands. Technology based interventions such as telecare offer a potential solution to meet this increase in a cost effective manner. However, there is a concern that such technologies may lead to increased social isolation. Traditional approaches towards resolving social isolation typically involve the provision of activities designed to provide social interaction. In this thesis, we investigate a novel persuasion based approach to address social isolation. To this end, we conducted a modelling study to discover effective persuasive strategies for encouraging social interaction and how to apply them. From the results of this study, we identified, defined and categorised effective persuasive strategies, grounded in theories of persuasion and behavioural change and developed a strategy selection heuristic for applying them. We investigated the perceived effectiveness of both the strategies and strategy selection heuristic and discovered conceptual differences between selecting the most suitable strategy for older adults and a wider audience. Finally, we investigated the actual effectiveness of the strategies with an observational study involving formal carers and older adults. Our results can be combined to create a persuasive virtual agent aimed to tackling social isolation amongst older adults.

Mémoire (M.E.S.R.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1986. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU