Human Relationships and Digital Weight Management Technology Raymond Gemen 1, Michelle Harricharan 2, Laura Fernández Celemín 1, Julie Barnett 2 1 European Food Information Council (EUFIC), Brussels, Belgium; 2 University of Bath, Bath, UK 22 nd European Congress on Obesity, (ECO), 6-9 May 2015, Prague, Czech Republic Interested in myPace? Register at mypaceapp.com for updates or contact Introduction Digital weight management technology (apps) are increasingly used to support health care. However, many 1) are not designed specifically for healthcare, 2) did not involve practitioners in the development, and 3) do not seem to be scientifically grounded. These apps may not easily support face-to-face consultations or incorporate the trusted patient-practitioner relationship – a relationship shown to directly influence patient adherence, motivation and weight loss. myPace The myPace platform supports dietetic practice beyond the consultation. 1 Developed with European dietitians, myPace combines the science of behaviour change and energy balance with leading evidence in health technology design. It extends the patient- practitioner relationship through regular communication and progress updates as well as tailored and timely advice and encouragement to enable sustained behaviour change. ‘Supportive accountability’ 2 is a framework for modelling the ways human relationships can support e-interventions. We extended this framework to consider the ways the patient-practitioner relationship can be embodied in technology to enhance face-to-face patient care (Fig 1). The practitioner is conceptualised as a sympathetic, trusted, credible person who patients feel accountable to and who delivers support that matches each patient’s specific needs. The practitioner is expected to increase patients’ sense of autonomy over time and reduce their reliance on the relationship to adhere to treatment. Figure 1. myPace - dietitian’s desktop & patient’s app - incorporates elements of behaviour change, energy balance, and the supportive accountability framework (communication, bond, legitimacy, motivation and accountability) Outlook A proof-of-concept trial with myPace is scheduled for mid This will 1) assess patient adherence to weight related behaviours, 2) assess the impact of myPace on bodyweight, and 3) understand the processes and mechanisms underlying the implementation of myPace in real world settings. The human support model underpinning myPace, the supportive accountability framework, will likely play an important role in future digital health technology. References 1. Harricharan et al. Integrating mobile technology with routine dietetic practice: the case of myPace for weight management. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Published online on 25 March Barnett J, et al. myPace: An integrative health platform for supporting weight loss and maintenance behaviours - Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics 2015(19)1: