Negotiating task interruptions with virtual agents for health behavior change

Virtual health counseling agents on mobile devices need to be able to interrupt their users when it is time for them to engage in healthy behaviors, such as scheduled medication taking or exercise. However, these real-time reminders often represent task interruptions for individuals who are engaged in work activities. This paper presents the results of a study which compares four strategies used by a virtual agent on a PDA for interrupting users at work to perform a healthy behavior. We find that, among several interruption coordination strategies previously explored in the HCI literature, empathic interruptions are superior overall in gaining both short-term compliance and self-reported desire to continue working with the agent.