Persuasive Technology for Shaping Social Beliefs of Rural Women in India: An Approach Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour

摘要

This paper presents the Personal Health Information system (PHI), which has been designed to influence health behaviours of rural women. The objective of the PHI is to offer health information to rural women to increase their awareness about menses and maternal health. The design and development process of the PHI is based on the theory of planned behaviour and employs social cues of persuasive technology to increase perceived behaviour control of rural women. In order to measure users' level of engagement, a comparative study between the PHI and conventional health information system was conducted. The results of the interactive sessions with women of different age groups and literacy levels illustrates the usefulness of PHI in motivating rural women to challenge existing social beliefs and practices, thereby persuading them to follow correct health practices. In this paper, design process of PHI, preliminary results of the initial study, and future research plans are discussed.