Designing the In-Home Digital Health Journey Across an Individual's Lifespan

Academic Mentor | Yiwen Dong
Community Partner | ID8Lab Foundation

Project Description
People interact with health technologies at many points across their lives: during childhood, adulthood, aging, and periods of illness. Yet these interactions are often short-term, fragmented, and shaped by clinical encounters rather than everyday health needs. Many health changes develop gradually at home, long before they are identified in clinical settings. At the same time, homes increasingly contain digital health tools such as smart scales, blood pressure cuffs, glucose monitors, motion sensors, and sleep trackers, with little guidance on when, what, or how health information should be monitored over time.

This project explores how to design an in-home digital health journey that supports long-term health tracking across the lifespan. The research examines which health markers are most meaningful to monitor at different life stages, when monitoring provides value versus burden, and how existing in-home sensors and medical devices can be used in ways that are accessible, ethical, and supportive rather than intrusive.

Working with community partners, the project will examine lived experiences, health priorities, and barriers related to long-term health monitoring in the home. The goal is not to create new technologies, but to develop design frameworks and guidelines that help individuals, families, and care systems make informed decisions about in-home health tracking that evolves with people’s needs over time.

Role of the Community-Academic Scholar
The Community-Academic Scholar will be involved in multiple stages of this community-engaged digital health research project. Early in the summer, the scholar will contribute to literature reviews focused on digital health technologies, in-home sensing, and lifespan-oriented health monitoring, helping to synthesize existing research and identify gaps and opportunities related to long-term health tracking in the home.

The scholar may have direct interaction with community members through supervised research activities, such as observing engagement sessions, assisting with interviews or focus groups, or supporting community outreach efforts. These interactions will occur regularly but thoughtfully, with an emphasis on ethical research practices and participant comfort.

Additional project work may include supporting qualitative data analysis, organizing and interpreting data from existing health devices or sensors, creating visual summaries of findings, and contributing to reports or presentations. Throughout the project, the scholar will participate in regular research meetings and reflective discussions that connect technical research activities with community perspectives and impact.

Through this role, the scholar will build skills in research methods, critical thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ethical engagement with health-related data across different stages of life.