Designing for the Invincible: Health Engagement and Information Management

Personal Health Records (PHR) are often promoted as tools for self- management of health. However, current adoption rates of PHRs at the national level suggests serious barriers that need to be overcome before they turn into ubiquitous technologies. In this paper, we report on a case study of PHR introduction and adoption on a large university campus. The aim of the study is to engage students in their health through a user-centered (re)design of a PHR. To this end, we have engaged in a multi-method study, including a survey, focus groups, and web metric data. The findings from the study have led to useful themes and design ideas, which we discuss here, presenting preliminary design recommendations.