Supporting collaborative reflection on personal values and health.

People with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) need support to identify and articulate how their personal values relate to their health. We drew on previous research involving people with MCC to develop three prototypes for supporting reflection on relationships between values and health. We tested these prototypes in a qualitative study involving 12 people with MCC. We identified benefits and limitations to building on patients' existing visit-preparation practices; revealed varying levels of comfort with deep, exploratory reflection involving a facilitator; and found that reflection oriented toward the future could elicit hopeful attitudes and plans for change, while reflection on the past elicited strong resistance. We discuss these findings in relation to previous literature on designing for reflection in three areas: shifting between self-guided and facilitator-guided reflection, balancing between outcome-oriented and exploratory reflection, and exploring temporality in reflection.

Engaging Teenagers in Asynchronous Online Groups to Design for Stress Management.

Teenagers have unique needs for mental wellbeing that can be supported by interactive technologies. Teens also have valuable input in the design of technology, so designers and researchers must seek new methods for involving them in the design process. We enrolled 23 unacquainted teenagers in an Asynchronous Remote Communities (ARC) study consisting of two private online groups. Teens participated in 10 weekly design activities on stress management across three months. We found that teens sought support from technology tailored to their perception of control in stressful contexts, developing sense of self, and varying social needs, including asking for no intervention from others. Teens appreciated that the ARC design experience allowed for flexibility in participation and supported selective disclosure. However, there were limited interactions between teenagers online. Reflecting on our study, we provide design implications for tools to support teenager mental health and discuss how the ARC method can be adapted for designing with teenagers.