| Reduction: a system that reduces complex behavior into simple tasks helps users perform the target behavior, and it may increase the benefit-cost ratio of a behavior (principle 1). |
Goal-setting for a wide range of key goals, including nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes (sleep, hydration, smoking cessation, weight loss, etc). Overall project outcomes set at the beginning to have fun, manage medical benefits costs better, improve health and wellness, manage cancer risks from exposure to fires, and gather evidence for work safety. Provide a private environment for personal discussions to occur. Access to resources and interactions that firefighters cannot easily coordinate themselves, such as interactive advice with HCPsa.
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| Tunneling: using the system to guide users through a process or experience provides opportunities to persuade along the way (principle 2). |
Care plans developed as a result of a medical assessment by a physician and nurse and embedded in the persuasive technology platform to ensure the firefighters received appropriate care plans according to their medical conditions. The nurse identified firefighters with heart stents and updated the platform and coaches to alter the exercise suggestions.
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| Tailoring: information provided by the system will be more persuasive if it is tailored to the potential needs, interests, personality, use context, or other factors relevant to a user group (principle 3). |
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| Personalization: a system that offers personalized content or services has a greater capability for persuasion (principle 4). |
A comprehensive set of measures were included for individuals to select exercise, nutrition, medical, and lifestyle trackers. The personalized measures could be chosen from exercise (light, moderate, and vigorous converted by the platform), walking, steps, running, strength training (sets, reps, and weight), fruits and vegetables, grain products, meat and alternatives, milk products, total sodium, total fiber, water, sleep, cigarettes per day, blood pressure, 4 cholesterol groups (total cholesterol, LDLb, HDLc, and ratio of TCd/HDL) and triglycerides, blood glucose, hip and waist measurements, height, weight, and a few other trackers that were not used in this paper (well-being, positive attitude, and medications taken). Any personalized measure could be refused or turned on at any time. The platform offered personalized advice based on their specific situation and progress. Individuals could release their trackers on their individual private webpage or release their trackers into a group challenge through a release feature. Users released with anonymous numbers or full names and could hide or rerelease data at any time in the future when they wanted. They had individual control.
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| Self-monitoring: a system that helps track one’s own performance or status supports in achieving goals (principle 5). |
Self-management controlled by individual firefighters with their own unique username and password; they had individual pages with personal summary information of their trackers (measures), goals set with medical or persuasive technology staff, group challenges to join, or lifestyle changes to make. Individuals could enter data at any time and choose to share their data or keep it private.
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| Simulation: systems that provide simulations can persuade by enabling them to observe immediately the link between the cause and its effect (principle 6). |
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| Rehearsal: a system providing means to rehearse a behavior can enable people to change their attitudes or behavior in the real world (principle 7). |
Rehearsal with experts within the firefighters’ organizations (eg, union representatives, station mentors, and chiefs) ensured approval and quality before the start, as well as consistency and thoroughness. The researcher prepared and pretested protocols with the professional team to prove the accuracy of the platform operation. Rehearsal for firefighters occurred with account log-in demonstrations and privacy options during the first interaction—the medical assessment day.
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