An online data-collection application called Family Healthware was made available by CDC between 2005 and 2007. Users could enter health data for themselves and their family members in order to determine which diseases (out of six different types) for which the individual is most at risk. The interface was a standard data-entry wizard that asked the user to enter data that ranged from a relative's blood glucose levels to whether he or she is a smoker.
Of course, we as game designers always have to ask, "can it be fun?" Can we get more people involved in future applications similar to Family Healthware by sprinkling some of our IMD fairy dust on it? Perhaps, but consider this: In order to process the right data and achieve insightful and enlightening feedback, these applications must inevitably ask the user to input a rather large amount of data. Additionally, most of this data is not particularly fun to input (we're talking about diseases, not favorite ice-cream flavors). Let's face it - the user has to do a lot of work.
If Family Healthware requires a lot of work, what makes it worth it to use it? The answer is to get information (not to have fun). It's like doing your taxes - it's painful for a moment, but you bite the bullet for a little while to get it done as quickly as possible. Now imagine how annoying it would be if some random interactive characters started appearing on your screen as you were trying to do your taxes. Chances are you would avoid them as much as possible so you won't have to spend a single unnecessary moment with your taxes. After all, if you wanted to have fun, you would play your Xbox 360 or something - not do your taxes!
The same probably goes for Family Healthware, or any application that involves gathering a lot of data from a user. That said, if we can't reduce the amount of work a user has to do, perhaps we can increase the amount that he or she gets from doing that work. For example, what if Family Healthware did a lot more than just spit out your risks and give you health tips? What if it networked your family members in a social way, allowing everyone to benefit from each others' data? In a group effort like that, the family pedigree could grow to be very large, and more accurate data could be attained from the application. Of course, there would have to be a way to keep private data private (even to family members), but the application could still work, even with a degree of anonymity.
As a group, the networked family members can help each other keep good health habits, staying on top of each other and updating each other with their information as it changes. Now, that would have the potential to get more users to use this type of application.
A demo of Family Healthware can be found on its designer's portfolio page:
http://acavenue.com/mywork/demo_fh.htm#fh
