Centering queer knowledge paradigms in designing and implementing health information and communication technologies

Abstract

This paper reports on findings from two studies focused broadly on the health information practices of queer persons in the American South. The first study consists of semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 65 queer community leaders and members, focusing on their responses to identifying ICT-related barriers to health information. The second study is a participatory design project in which queer individuals received Community Health Worker (CHW) training and certification. As part of their coursework, these CHWs collaborated with health sciences librarians to create an informational resource focused on an issue facing the queer community. By combining the two studies, we offer additional evidence of the cisnormative and heteronormative biases entrenched within ICTs in health contexts and illuminate how communities radically repurpose, or queer, ICTs to uplift and center themselves for health promotion. Findings inform a framework for queer-centered design addressing the importance of affective value within ICTs for development.