Building a Tool that Draws from the Collective Wisdom of the Internet to Help Users Respond Effectively to Anxiety-Related Questions

Infrastructural Work Behind The Scene: A Study of Formalized Peer-support Practices for Mental Health

“…For example, O'Leary et al conducted a study of people with mental health issues using digital technologies for peer-support, and identified design opportunities including matching peers based on similarities beyond diagnosis, enhancing accessibility and proactive interventions [44]. Some assistive tools have been explored for online peer-support too, including guided and un-guided chat [45], and using machine learning based tools for rapidly producing high-quality responses to anxiety-related questions [27]. However, overall, research on design to make digitally mediated peer-support more effective and safe is still quite limited, focusing primarily on enhancing service interactions and peer interactions.…”

“…However, as shown in the study, the speciality of mental healthcare in particular and healthcare in general should not be ignored, and it takes careful design considerations to make these platforms truly effective with minimal negative consequences. In HCI, some have started to turn to design to enhance these online platforms for peer support [27,44,45]. Yet, based on studies with online platforms, they are still limited to the dynamics of social interactions between peers.…”