AI-Assisted Causal Pathway Diagram for Human-Centered DesignThis paper explores the integration of causal pathway diagrams (CPD) into human-centered design (HCD), investigating how these diagrams can enhance the early stages of the design process. A dedicated CPD plugin for the online collaborative whiteboard platform Miro was developed to streamline diagram creation and offer real-time AI-driven guidance. Through a user study with designers ($N=20$), we found that CPD's branching and its emphasis on causal connections supported both divergent and convergent processes during design. CPD can also facilitate communication among stakeholders. Additionally, we found our plugin significantly reduces designers' cognitive workload and increases their creativity during brainstorming, highlighting the implications of AI-assisted tools in supporting creative work and evidence-based designs.2024RZRuican Zhong et al.Human Centered Design and Engineering, University of WashingtonGenerative AI (Text, Image, Music, Video)Prototyping & User TestingCHI
“You Can See the Connections”: Facilitating Visualization of Care Priorities in People Living with Multiple Chronic Health ConditionsIndividuals with multiple chronic health conditions (MCC) often face an overwhelming set of self-management work, resulting in a need to set care priorities. Yet, much self-management work is invisible to healthcare providers. This study aimed to understand how to support the development and sharing of connections between personal values and self-management tasks through the facilitated use of an interactive visualization system: Conversation Canvas. We conducted a field study with 13 participants with MCC, 3 caregivers, and 7 primary care providers in Washington State. Analysis of interviews with MCC participants showed that developing visualizations of connections between personal values, self-management tasks, and health conditions helped individuals make sense of connections relevant to their health and wellbeing, recognize a road map of central issues and their impacts, feel respected and understood, share priorities with providers, and support value-aligned changes. These findings demonstrated potential for the guided process and visualization to support priorities-aligned care.2023HRHyeyoung Ryu et al.University of WashingtonInteractive Data VisualizationMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesCHI
Supporting collaborative reflection on personal values and healthPeople with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) need support to understand and articulate how their personal values relate to their health and health care. We developed three prototypes for supporting reflection values and health and tested them 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 translated these findings into design guidelines for supporting collaborative reflection on values and health. We also discussed 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.2021ABAndrew B. L. Berry et al.Personal and Mental HealthCSCW
Learning from Positive Adaptations of Pediatric Cancer Patients to Design Health TechnologiesThe diagnosis of cancer brings about significant changes in the life of a child. In addition to physical pain, pediatric patients face psychological and social challenges. At the same time, some patients also have positive experiences with and attitudes toward their illness and treatment. Drawing on 19 semi-structured interviews with pairs of pediatric cancer patients and their parental caregivers, we examined patients' perspectives on their experience of living with cancer. We identified four salient themes in patients' positive experiences: future-oriented thinking, developing strong personal bonds and relationships, gaining knowledge and life experience, and developing self-management and coping skills. Collectively, the patients' positive experiences indicate that they adapt to their new lives through an evolving process. Based on this process, we provide design implications for health technologies to support and promote positive experiences during illness and treatment.2020SPSun Young Park et al.University of Michigan Ann ArborMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesCHI
Supporting Communication About Values Between People with Multiple Chronic Conditions and their ProvidersPeople with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) often disagree with healthcare providers on priorities for care, leading to worse health outcomes. To align priorities, there is a need to support patient-provider communication about what patients consider important for their well-being and health (i.e., their personal values). To address barriers to communication about values, we conducted a two-part study with key stakeholders in MCC care: patients, informal caregivers, and providers. In Part I, co-design activities generated seven dimensions that characterize stakeholders' diverse ideas for supporting communication about values: explicitness, effort, disclosure, guidance, intimacy, scale, and synchrony. In Part II, we used the dimensions to generate three design concepts and presented them in focus groups to further scrutinize findings from Part I. Based on these findings we outline directions for research and design to improve patient-provider communication about patients' personal values.2019ABAndrew B. L. Berry et al.University of WashingtonMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesChronic Disease Self-Management (Diabetes, Hypertension, etc.)CHI
Facilitating Self-reflection about Values and Self-care Among Individuals with Chronic ConditionsIndividuals with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) experience the overwhelming burden of treating MCC and frequently disagree with their providers on priorities for care. Aligning self-care with patients' values may improve healthcare for these patients. However, patients' values are not routinely discussed in clinical conversations and patients may not actively share this information with providers. In a qualitative field study, we interviewed 15 patients in their homes to investigate techniques that encourage patients to articulate values, self-care, and how they relate. Study activities facilitated self-reflection on values and self-care and produced varying responses, including: raising consciousness, evolving perspectives, identifying misalignments, and considering changes. We discuss how our findings extend prior work on supporting reflection in HCI and inform the design of tools for improving care for people with MCC.2019CLCatherine Y. Lim et al.Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research InstituteMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesChronic Disease Self-Management (Diabetes, Hypertension, etc.)Surgical Assistance & Medical TrainingCHI
“It's good to know you're not a stranger every time:” Communication about Values Between Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions and Healthcare ProvidersWhen patients’ decisions about health care priorities conflict with those of their health care providers, patients’ health outcomes suffer. Patients’ values for health and well-being influence their healthcare priorities, but recent work suggests that the values discussed in clinical settings do not reflect the full breadth of patients’ values. To address an evidence gap regarding how discussions about values occur in clinical settings, we conducted a field study with patients with multiple chronic conditions and their health care providers, including clinical observations, interviews, and home visits. We report on the extent to which certain categories of patients’ values identified in prior research were discussed in clinic visits. We then discuss how patients and providers coordinated their perspectives to establish connections among patients’ values and health concerns. These findings have implications for the design of systems to support patient-provider communication to incorporate patients’ values and promote concordant priorities for health care.2018ABAndrew Berry et al.Patients and Clinical SettingsCSCW