Home // International Journal On Advances in Intelligent Systems, volume 11, numbers 1 and 2, 2018 // View article

Youth with ME/CFS: Untangling Complexities in Technology Design to Support Everyday Living

Authors:
Jorun Børsting
Alma Leora Culén

Keywords: complex systems; sense-making; ME/CFS; ANT; healthcare; design thinking.

Abstract:
In this paper, we argue that the technology design needs to take a more holistic perspective, beyond opportunities offered by the technology development alone. This is especially important when developing technologies for complex contexts, such as healthcare, and for users who are at risk. Furthermore, we present a sense-making process, informed by tools and methods from social science, complex systems design and design thinking, and intended for human-computer interaction designers and researchers to broaden their understanding of entanglement of technology, users, and the design context. This is particularly important when working in a new application area, where one is not an expert. We illustrate our approach by exploring if and how digital tools could support youth with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), to better cope with everyday challenges. Informed by previous research related to our field of inquiry, we combine ethnographic research, Actor-Network Theory adapted for design, and Giga-mapping (a complex systems design technique). We find that this combination of methods and techniques supports deeper reflections over the domain complexities, and makes it easier to avoid designing technologies for adolescents with ME/CFS that do not offer real support in day-to-day living.

Pages: 1 to 12

Copyright: Copyright (c) to authors, 2018. Used with permission.

Publication date: June 30, 2018

Published in: journal

ISSN: 1942-2679