Dyadic Physical Activity Planning with a Virtual Coach: Using Reinforcement Learning to Select Persuasive Strategies

Physical activity is one of the main factors that contribute to reducing the chance of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression, all while improving an individual’s health in general. While this is the case, the fact still remains that many adults across the world do not reach the minimum recommendations for...

Using Reinforcement Learning to Personalize Daily Step Goals for a Collaborative Dialogue with a Virtual Coach

To reduce morbidity and mortality caused by multiple chronic conditions, the number of steps people take each day should be gradually increased. For this, a recommended step goal can be created that is based on an individual's previous walking behaviour. However, for a person, the achievability of this recommended goal can change daily because...

Goal-setting dialogue for physical activity with a virtual coach

Lack of physical activity is one of the main risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Although most people are aware of the risks of this poor health behavior, they have a hard time improving this behavior. Goal-setting is an effective step in the process of changing behavior. It can motivate a person and help them to remain...

Everyday Locations as Cues to Smoke: Personalized Environments in Virtual Reality to Elicit Smoking Cravings

Smoking is a leading risk factor negatively impacting the health of people, not only those partaking in it first-hand, but also to those around them. Different methods are available to assist people with quitting smoking, with various degrees of effectiveness. Researchers developing smoking cessation approaches would like to have controlled...

Motivating, your way: Tailoring your fitness journey

A significant cardiovascular health risk is insufficient physical activity. The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of strenuous physical activity every week. Inadequate physical activity increases the risk of chronic diseases and other health conditions like cholesterol and obesity. This thesis researches the role of data...