It is generally assumed that technology assists individuals in improving the quality of their lives. However, the impact of new technologies and media on well-being and positive functioning is still somewhat controversial.

In a paper on HealthAffairs, authors Guendalina Graffigna*, Serena Barello and Giuseppe Riva propose using the “positive technology” approach to influence three dimensions of health experience—affective quality (hedonic), actualization (heudaimonic), and connectedness (social or interpersonal)—that they consider crucial for fostering patient engagement through e-health interventions 

In the positive technology approach, patient engagement is achieved by structuring the experience using a goal, rules, and a feedback system; using multimedia and interactive data to provide additional information about the patient’s options; and replacing a real-world experience with a synthetic one, with the help of virtual reality.

Positive technology easily supports strategies like the “choice architecture” of Robert Nease and coauthors (Feb 2013) to overcome cognitive issues.

Also, positive technology is able to augment patients’ experience in health decisions by making them more aware of their choices and offering different shared virtual spaces that support them in making the choice that best reflects their perspective.

See on content.healthaffairs.org