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- SCAARF: a subtle conditioning approach for anxiety relief facilitationPublication . Lopes, Laís dos Santos; Campos, Pedro Filipe PereiraAnxiety disorders represent a significant public health problem, affecting more than 280 million people worldwide. Although mobile and wearable interfaces have long been developed to improve mental health issues, most of the current approaches still operate in the so-called “reflective mind”. However, learning about self-regulation techniques and coping strategies for dealing with and learning about stress can be counterproductive when it comes to anxiety disorders, since reflecting on your own health data can enhance stress and anxiety symptoms. This work introduces an alternative method to mitigating anxiety symptoms through the use of a smart wearable interface, SCAARF, which implements a subconscious, less invasive approach in the design of assistive technologies for mental health, that takes advantage of a multimodal intervention (haptic and auditory) to help users cope with anxious states. Qualitative results suggest that the SCAARF mobile app is effective in helping users relax and cope with anxious states of mind, and that the scarf form-factor is perceived as comfortable, familiar (and thus non-intrusive). Moreover, user feedback shows the SCAARF wearable supports a calm state of mind, as it reminds users to relax.
- SCAARF: a subtle conditioning approach for anxiety relief facilitationPublication . Lopes, Laís; Campos, PedroAnxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent mental health conditions, affecting more than 280 million people worldwide. This paper presents a novel approach to assistive technologies for mental health. In our approach, the paired combination of a wearable device — in the form of a scarf — and an accompanying mobile app, helps mitigate anxiety symptoms whenever they start to arise. This approach differs from conventional ubiquitous technologies developed for dealing with mental health, both in the role the mobile app plays in the process and in the way the intervention is delivered to users. SCAARF offers a more subtle, less obtrusive method for coping with anxiety. We discuss the results of an initial (three–week–long) evaluation of SCAARF with anxiety–suffering users. Qualitative results suggest that the SCAARF mobile app is effective in helping users relax and cope with anxious states of mind.
- Designing positive behavior change experiences: a systematic review and sentiment analysis based on online user reviews of fitness and nutrition mobile applicationsPublication . Pimenta, Francisca; Lopes, Laís; Gonçalves, Frederica; Campos, PedroWhile mobile devices have become ubiquitous, illnesses derived from poor lifestyle habits are on the rise. However, our understand ing of design mechanisms that induce healthier behavior change through mobile devices is still limited. Using the BCT Taxonomy, and online user reviews as an indicator of experience satisfaction, we make a three-folded contribution to designing interactive sys tems for behavior change: (i) a systematic review of applications for physical activity and healthier eating habits, coding BCTs; (ii) sentiment analysis performed on 20492 review sentences of these apps; and (iii) design implications regarding the implementation features for each BCT cluster, considering the highest-scored fea tures in terms of sentiment analysis. Positive expressions referred to the framing/reframing technique. Contrarily, negative expres sions were mostly related to reward and threat. Findings from this study can be used to benchmark interactions between users and behavior change interfaces, and provide design insights to support positive user experiences.