An Age-Differentiated Perspective on Visualizations of Personal Health Data

Abstract

The digitalization of medical human-machine system equips data with an essential role during processes supported by digital information systems. Here, data and information visualizations are able to reduce complexity only if influencing variables on human understanding, insight, and decision-making can be controlled, quantified and ergonomically designed. Present chapter provides an review on previous work in computer sciences, engineering, psychology and medicine in order to descriptively summarize human aspects which are relevant for the design of data and information visualizations in healthcare settings. The second part of this chapter builds upon the outcome of this review by working out current challenges of information and data visualization for consumer healthcare systems and introducing three studies which serves to tackle those challenges.