Beyond the sticky note : towards a theory of Cognitive Adoption in digital health using the example of Augmented Living Spaces

Abstract

Although digital health technologies could support people with cognitive impairment, adoption among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is low because many systems impose high cognitive demands and do not align with everyday routines or trust needs. This dissertation presents a Cognitive Adoption Theory, developed through multi-cycle Design Science Research, the iterative design and evaluation of Augmented Living Spaces (a spatial augmented reality and AI-enhanced home concept) and ConZones (an embodied interaction approach using position-sensitive projection zones). Through a combination of methods, the dissertation presents a theory that links cognitive perspectives, adoption, health behaviour change, and metacognition. The dissertation also provides design principles and ethical guidance for synthetic image data in AI health settings, as well as reference architectures for cognitively inclusive digital health technologies that support autonomy and sustained use today.