Cynthia Yeung - Case Study, Designing a healthcare parasocial relationship

How might parasocial interactions be designed to humanize the older adult patients and change doctor attitudes and behaviors around personalized care?

Research contextual background
My curiosity started when a friend invited me to a BTS concert. Despite my stubborn demeanor to resist the k-pop phenomenon, I found myself spending hours learning more about BTS. Was this newfound interest simply about curiosity and time spent, or was it something more?

I did a small literature review to learn more and understand:

What are parasocial interactions and its relations to digital media usage?
What makes us prone to parasocial relationships?
How could we imagine designing parasocial interactions for social change?
How are parasocial relationships evaluated in human-computer interactions?

Literature Review,
Research Summary

Parasocial Phenomenon and Motivations for Parasocial Interactions (PSI)
Parasocial interactions refer to a psychological phenomenon where one-sided interactions become a developmental connection between participant and mediator. Despite limited face-to-face interactions, the participant believe they have an intimate relationship with the mediator.
One interpretation of understanding PSI motivations is the Media System Dependency theory that breaks down dependency on media into three primary motivations; understanding, orientating, and playing.
Parasocial Interaction Methods
Whether the individual is seeking understanding, orientation, or play goals, three common themes of PSI methods that build parasocial relationships with individuals stood out in the literature; narrative involvement, perceived reality, and non-verbal cues.
PSI Applications and Effectiveness in Behavior Change
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of PSI, the research findings regarding effective behavior change of PSI applications split between desired and unintended application outcomes. The literature social network services and entertainment-education PSI applications found that without cognitive-oriented goals from end-users, behavior change is unlikely to result from PSI alone.

Conceptual Model,
Applied Research

Gerontological Care

Gerontological care is a multidisciplinary approach to geriatrics that views aging as a natural process of life. It’s an important distinction as gerontology focuses on the human experience of aging with insights from nursing, sociology, social work, and economics whereas geriatics concentrates on medical aspects.

How might parasocial interactions in technological system change doctor attitudes towards working with older adults?

To personalize care for older adults, the conceptual model leaned on the Understanding and Orientation motivator of the Media System Dependency theory. The doctor’s leading motivation would be to understand a day in the patient’s life and consequently orient or evaluate the best care plan for the patient. 

This conceptual model is contingent on the smart environment within a senior living community. Data gathered in a smart environment system through the use of sensors, acutators, smart devices, and IoT systems within the living unit could be leveraged by AI and the doctor to create a parasocial relationship.

The goal would be for the doctor to provide personalized treatment plans for quality of life versus treating a list of symptoms. The system parallels a social network system where the patient is the content creator, the doctor is the consuming user, and the smart environment is the platform.

Conceptual Model, Flow Chart

Conceptual Model, System Flow

Research Reflections

The future of technological advancement adds another layer to the complexity of parasocial interactions. With artificial intelligence and machine learning increasingly automating tedious tasks, I anticipate a change in the definition of parasocial interactions. Are parasocial interactions purely between humans?

My conceptual model explicitly relies on developing parasocial relationships and would aim to consider all consequential factors. While parasocial interactions traditionally occur implicitly in our environments, I wonder whether designers should have parasocial consideration of potential ethical implications or unintended consequences for direct and indirect stakeholders.

Appendix

Literature Review

A small literature review on parasocial interactions compromising of ten published research data. The paper closely examines what compels us to form one-sided attachments to others who digitally share parts of themselves with us. It focuses on the literature regarding a parasocial phenomenon related to digital media usage.

View Literature Review

Conceptual Model Artifacts

A brief description of my conceptual model that depicts a technological system that is generates data and translates user interaction. Artifacts included to demonstrate design process of conceptual model include flow charts, personas, user journey, blueprint, and rapid prototype wireframes.

View Conceptual Model Artifacts

AI and DEIA User Flow

A high level exploration of the gerontological care conceptual model through the impact of DEIA. This user flow specifically dives into AI is articulated within the system and the intersection of traditional UX design with XAI.

View AI and DEIA User Flow

Medium Post

The goal of this Medium post is to disseminate this translational research to a popular wide audience. My approach was to synthesize my literature review and conceptual model that ties together all the UX work in a friendly and easily consumable way.

View Medium Post

Designing healthcare parasocial relationships