Embrace Rehab

Design Research

My Father doesn’t like to do his home rehab exercises. I want to motivate him to change his behavior. So I began by doing research on behavior change and how positive psychological theory can be applied to being about a new habit.

Form Groups or Relationships

One behavior change method is to form groups or relationships. Key to long-term positive behavioral change is the power of the group. Whether through accountability or support, individuals are more likely to continue change within a supportive group context.

With this in mind, my father and I formed a accountability group . Using a Shared-To-Do-List app called Wunderlist, I assigned daily home rehabilitation exercise goals based on the doctor’s order; When my father finishes a goal, he crosses task off of the to-do list then its broadcasted to every member of the accountability group(me and my brother). Seeing the notification, we cheer and send him words of encouragement.

The result is significant. In the first two days, I assigned one task each day and my dad nailed it. On the third day, I had a conversation with my dad, he was very excited and wanted me to give him more tasks. Then, I give him 4 tasks every day : e.g. stand without support for 3 minutes, climb 10 stairs, stroll in the park, and walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes.

To my surprise, my dad also nailed them all! Even though I never asked, he sent me messages of how long and how far he walked on the treadmill every time he finished. I reckon he wants to prove himself to me by posting the record on the treadmill. The length he spent on treadmill increase from 10 minutes, to 15 minute, and to 20 minutes.

Even when he missed the task of a stroll in the park due to the rain, he sent me the explanation. This accountability group not only changed his behavior but also build up his self-efficacy.

Instill New Habits by little intervention

Another behaviour change method is to instill new habits by incremental intervention. In theory, if we set little effective interventions in the original behavior we can break the vicious circle of an old habit or instill a new habit. For example, a man want to instill a new habit of workout. He sets a little effective intervention: whenever he flushes the toilet, he has to do a pushup. I suggested to my dad: go for a small walk after you pee.He was quite happy to try that.

Track Progress

My next task was to make the data entry more automate so that he wouldn’t have to fuzz with the technology. I gave my dad a Fitbit zip as a gift and through Fitbit API I could collect all his data. Everything became easier, and also kept the rewards and motivations going.

After my dad used the Fitbit for two days, the steps seemed unusually low. I called my dad and found out that the Fitbit couldn’t pick up his steps, because my dad’s walking pattern is different from a normal person. We tried to pin the Fitbit on different parts of his body but the data was still not ideal. Finally, we pinned the Fitbit on my father’s walker and the data is perfect. My father’s walker is a “smart walker” now.

The Result is quite promising. After attached the Fitbit to the walker, I see he walks on average 2000 steps a day. From the daily graph I can see how often does my dad pees and how many steps he takes each time. I can even see when he wakes up and when he goes to bed. I feel great because I know my dad is safe.