Framework/Key Features

In the process of identifying and designing the key features of Stick With It! we created a framework that is a continuous cycle of Education, Reflection, and Intervention. After talking with our teen informants and learning that these three pieces are of value, this framework guided our design choices and considerations. We wanted to make a product that would both scaffold teens, as well as, let them feel ownership over the process. This flexibility and the increased self awareness will be especially important for return users of Stick With It!

We also realized both from our own investigations and from our teen informants, that each piece of the framework has a unique and complimentary technology. For the education aspect, we chose to deliver the content via a website. For the reflection, we chose to use online journaling, known as web logs or blogging – a technology that is extremely popular with teens. Lastly, we wanted to create something that wasn’t just stagnant education pages, but could actually help teens in the moment when they most needed support. This led to the intervention piece – we chose to use mobile phones, since they are so prevelant among teenagers and they are ideal for providing in-the-moment awareness.

The Key Features we created and the theory we used to inform our design are:

My Page - This maintains confidentiality and centralizes and personalizes each user’s relevant information. It also coincides with the situative principles that they are the ‘owners’ of their own plan.
Sticking Points – Research shows that teens turn to the Internet for health-related information. Education and knowledge are essential in trying to modify behavior.
Plan of Attack – Teens establish their own cellphone intervention plan with the plan of attack. The cellphone support will help archive what Albert Bandura calls guided mastery experiences. These mastery experiences are essential to raising self-efficacy levels which in turn improve chances of long term behavior change. The interventions will eventually fade so the teen is encouraged to make the changes on his/her own.
My Blogs – Reflection is an important step in cognitive learning theory. Blogging technology has made the power for reflection (both public and private) easily accessible.
Personalized Feedback – This will help improve self-efficacy. As Bandura’s theories state, when a person is successful they should attribute their success to their own actions, and when a person is unsuccessful, they should attribute it to their environmental factors. Our feedback will follow this model with encouragement, cheerleading, and letting them know that setbacks are okay and recoverable.
Peer Support – Peer education has been proven to be a successful strategy in health education.