Introducing emotional interfaces to healthcare systems

Abstract

The use of healthcare websites is gaining importance in the United States. It is conceivable that when using healthcare websites, the users may not be in a happy or euphoric emotional state, and would like to be comforted. In this paper, we argue that using emotional interfaces in healthcare systems will attract users, and motivate them to stay, participate and return. We suggest a possible future state for emotional interfaces in healthcare systems. In this context, we present a review of relevant theories and research studies from Computer Science and Psychology, and a subjective ranking of some well-known healthcare websites in the United States with respect to their hedonic and emotional values. Lastly, we discuss our proposal for developing emotional interfaces for healthcare websites. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.