Towards Profile and Domain Modelling in Agent-Based Applications for Behavior Change

Abstract

Health support programs play a vital role in public health and prevention strategies at local and national levels, for issues such as smoking cessation, physical rehabilitation, nutrition, or to regain mobility. A key success factor in these topics is related to the appropriate use of behavior change techniques, as well as tailored recommendations for users/patients, adapted to their goals and the continuous monitoring of their progress. Social networks interactions and the use of multi-agent technologies can further improve the effectiveness of these programs, especially through personalization and profiling of users and patients. In this paper we propose an agent-based model for supporting behavior change in eHealth programs. Moreover, we identify the main challenges in this area, especially regarding profile and domain modeling profiles for healthcare behavioral programs, where the definition of goals, expectations and argumentation play a key role in the success of a intervention.