The social grounds of self-tracking in insurance: A mixed-method approach to adoption and use

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Version: author
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_2DA55AE8D116
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The social grounds of self-tracking in insurance: A mixed-method approach to adoption and use
Journal
DIGITAL HEALTH
Author(s)
Presset Bastien, Ohl Fabien
ISSN
2055-2076
2055-2076
Publication state
Published
Issued date
01/2023
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
9
Pages
205520762311807
Language
english
Abstract
Scholars have explored the role of self-tracking in mediating people's values, perceptions, and practices. But little is known about its institutionalised forms, although it is becoming a routine component of health policies and insurance programs. Furthermore, the role of structural elements such as sociodemographic variables, socialisations, and trajectories has been neglected. Using both quantitative (n = 818) and qualitative (n = 44) data gathered from users and non-users of an insurance program's self-tracking intervention, and drawing from Bourdieu's theoretical framework, we highlight the impact of users’ social background on the adoption and use of the technology. We show that older, poorer, and less educated individual are less likely to adopt the technology, and describe four prototypical categories of users, the meritocrats, the litigants, the scrutinisers and the good-intentioned. Each category displays different reasons and ways to use the technology that are grounded in users’ socialisations and life trajectories. Results suggest that too much emphasis may have been put on self-tracking's transformative powers and not enough on its reproductive inertia, with important consequences for both scholars, designers, and public health stakeholders.
Keywords
Health Information Management, Computer Science Applications, Health Informatics, Health Policy
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
09/06/2023 6:32
Last modification date
26/07/2023 7:00
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