Conference Proceedings
"Energy is a Finite Resource": Designing Technology to Support Individuals across Fluctuating Symptoms of Depression
R Kornfield, R Zhang, J Nicholas, SM Schueller, SA Cambo, DC Mohr, M Reddy
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings | ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY | Published : 2020
Abstract
While the HCI field increasingly examines how digital tools can support individuals in managing mental health conditions, it remains unclear how these tools can accommodate these conditions' temporal aspects. Based on weekly interviews with five individuals with depression, conducted over six weeks, this study identifies design opportunities and challenges related to extending technology-based support across fluctuating symptoms. Our findings suggest that participants perceive events and contexts in daily life to have marked impact on their symptoms. Results also illustrate that ebbs and flows in symptoms profoundly affect how individuals practice depression self-management. While digital to..
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Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank our participants. We also thank Drs. Darren Gergle, Arlen Moller, Emily Lattie, Andrea Graham, and Kathryn Ringland for feedback on earlier versions of this paper. RK was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH115882).