User interactivity in eHealth applications: A novel taxonomy

Abstract

User interactivity is a generally desirable goal in eHealth software applications. Such interactions can occur in the form of personalized feedback, targeted alerts and virtual assistants. Previous research has shown that interactive features in eHealth applications tend to improve user engagement and retention. However, there are no frameworks that classify levels of user interactivity in eHealth. We propose a novel taxonomy that ranges from static (non-interactive) to collaborative (social media) to consultative (telemedicine). This taxonomy is a useful reference for developing and evaluating eHealth applications.