Polina Durneva, PhD
Consumer Health Informatics
This research stream focuses on designing and evaluating digital health technologies that empower individuals to actively manage their health. My work explores how mobile apps, virtual agents, and home-based technologies can be designed with user needs, preferences, and lived experiences in mind, especially for conditions where patient engagement is critical to improving outcomes.
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Digital Health for Chronic Headaches
This line of research applies a biopsychosocial lens to design and assess mobile health technologies for individuals managing chronic headaches. It explores how digital tools can address biological, psychological, and social needs, making them more personally relevant and effective in supporting self-management.
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The Biopsychosocial Perspective on Designing Mobile Health Apps – Health Systems, 2024
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Shedding Light on Biopsychosocial Relevance of Digital Health Technologies – ICIS, 2021
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Leveraging the Biopsychosocial Model to Assess Perceived Relevance of Digital Health – AMCIS, 2021
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Biopsychosocial Digital Health Interventions for Chronic Pain Management – AcademyHealth, 2021
Digital Health for Obesity and Overweight
This research explores how design elements, such as virtual characters, support individuals in self-managing obesity and overweight. It draws on theories of self- and social presence to guide the design of avatars and user-centered interventions that promote engagement and sustained behavior change.
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Virtual Characters in Digital Health Technologies: A Self-presence Perspective – AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction, 2024
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Designing Personally Relevant Avatars for Digital Health Interventions – HICSS, 2022
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Design Guidelines for a Technology-Enabled Nutrition Education Program to Support Overweight and Obese Adolescents – Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2019
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Exploring the Role of Virtual Presence in Digital Tools for Obesity Management – AMCIS, 2021
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Promoting Healthy Cooking Literacy for Overweight Adolescents Using Technology – AMIA Symposium, 2019
Digital Health Engagement for Home-Based Viral Diagnostics
This stream investigates how consumer health technologies, such as smartphone-enabled home diagnostics, support patient engagement during viral outbreaks. It identifies drivers of enablement and empowerment, particularly in the context of at-home testing and clinical trials.
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Health Consumer Engagement, Enablement, and Empowerment in Smartphone-Enabled Home-Based Diagnostic Testing for Viral Infections – JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2022
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Identifying Enablers of Participant Engagement in Clinical Trials of Consumer Health Technologies – Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2021
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Exploring the Role of Virtual Presence in Patient’s Engagement with mHealth – AMIA Symposium, 2020
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Consumer Engagement in Smartphone Supported Home-based Diagnostic Testing for Communicable Virus – AMIA Symposium, 2020
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Enablers of Trial Engagement for Smartphone-Supported Home Diagnostic Tests – AMIA Symposium, 2020
Digital Health Equity
This line of work examines how digital health technologies can better serve underserved populations by addressing both conceptual and practical challenges in advancing equity. It includes a critical review of how digital health equity is defined and measured and a mixed methods study exploring the needs, barriers, and preferences of individuals with low socioeconomic status and the healthcare providers who support them.
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