"They don't always think about that": Translational Needs in the Design of Personal Health Informatics Applications

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Design Research

Background:

• Personal health informatics (PHI) research offers strategies for designing health applications.
• Translating PHI research insights into practical design applications remains a significant challenge.
• Existing research struggles to bridge the gap between PHI insights and design practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the translation of PHI research insights into practical resources for designers.
• To develop and evaluate a prototype set of design cards aimed at supporting designers in PHI.
• To identify barriers and facilitators in translating PHI research for design practice.

Main Methods:

• Literature review to inform resource development.
• Development of a prototype set of design cards for personal health informatics.
• Semi-structured interviews with student designers and professional health designers/researchers.

Main Results:

• Design cards were evaluated by 12 student designers and 12 professional designers/researchers.
• Identified tensions and barriers encountered by designers in health technology development.
• Highlighted the potential of translational resources to improve health-related technology design.

Conclusions:

• Translational resources, like design cards, can inform the design of personal health informatics technologies.
• Designers face challenges related to knowledge, advocacy, and evidence in health technology design.
• There is a need for better support systems to help designers navigate these challenges in PHI.