What do those who design products and services around mental health data need to consider? A perspective from Design Informatics

1. Designing From,
With, and By Mental
Health Data
Maria Wolters

2. Speaking as an “Expert by Experience”

3. Mental Health Data &
Humans
– Several frameworks (e.g.,
Human Data Interaction (Mortier
et al.)
– Here: Design from, with, by data
(Speed and Oberlander, 2016)
– Based around values:
economic, social, moral, ethical

4. Design From Data
– Systems designed by
people
– Inspired by measurable
features of humans,
things, contexts, …
– Mental health is about
interpretation
(by @theofficialsadghostclub, Instagram)

5. The Challenge:
– How can we identify
measurable features from which
we can elicit data to better
understand the values and
thinking patterns in play?
– How can we capture that data in
a way that is sensitive to human
values and the challenges of
mental illness

6. Design With Data
– Systems designed by
people
– Focus on Data flows
through system
– While sustaining and
enhancing values
(Allie Brosh, Hyperbole and a Half)

7. The Challenge
– When data flows affect and
inform the behaviour of humans
and artefacts, how can we
support human values?
– How can we respect disclosure
preferences, facilitate
sensemaking, support illness
work and biographical work?

8. Design By Data
– Systems are designed by
other systems
– Data-intensive analysis
yields new products and
services
– Largely autonomous
Machine Learning

9. The Challenge
– Designers need to
mediate the new products
and services, so that they
fit with the values of those
affected
– Going beyond automated
interactions towards
empathy, alliance,
personalisation

10. Thank you for your attention.
Contact: Maria Wolters,
maria.wolters@ed.ac.uk
@mariawolters