Using Human-Centered Design to Build a Peer-Support Network for People Living with Chronic Diseases

Mainstream social networks only partly meet the needs of people with chronic conditions, exposing users to fragmented features, limited moderation, and unreliable content.

To design and prototype a patient-dedicated social network "Dubble" aligned with explicit and implicit user needs.

We applied user-centered design: interviews (n=5), focus group (n=7), and card sorting (2x4) to derive personas, an experience map, the information architecture, and a Figma prototype.

Three primary needs emerged: emotional support (100%), experience sharing (80%), belonging (60%), plus non-social requirements: confidentiality (40%) and information reliability (100%). Participants were reluctant to use public platforms due to misinformation, fake accounts, and hostile behavior, and wanted relationships that can extend to in-person meetings (60%). The prototype comprises four sections: Home (experience feed), Community (thematic groups and activities), Dubble (one-to-one pairing to mitigate "mass effect"), and Resources (vetted information).

Early findings translate user priorities into features that support sharing, belonging, close-knit peer support, and trustworthy information. A larger evaluation will assess usability, acceptability, and psychosocial impact.