Not Another Medication Adherence App: Critical Reflections on Addressing Public HIV-related Stigma Through Design

People living with HIV experience a high level of stigma in our society. Public HIV-related stigma often leads to anxiety and depression and hinders access to social support and proper medical care. Technologies for HIV, however, have been mainly designed for treatment management and medication adherence rather than for helping people cope with public HIV-related stigma specifically. Drawing on empirical data obtained from semi-structured interviews and design activities with eight social workers and 29 people living with HIV, we unpack the ways in which needs for privacy and trust, intimacy, and social support create tensions around key coping strategies. Reflecting on these tensions, we present design implications and opportunities to empower people living with HIV to cope better with public HIV-related stigma at the individual level.