How HCI Bridges Health and Design in Online Health Communities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic review of online health communities (OHCs) published between 2009 and 2020 in the ACM Digital Library. Aiming to consolidate the current issues, design knowledge, challenges, and tensions in OHCs, our analysis identified four high-level aspects related to the use and design of OHCs: (1) temporal: OHCs as transition spaces, (2) spatial: bridging experiential knowledge with medical expertise, (3) technological: exchanging and locating peer support, and (4) tension dimensions in OHCs. We further discuss methodological improvements and computing opportunities for OHC research and how to increase OHC members' agency in such a medically dominated context. These findings have the potential to inform future OHC designs and help researchers and designers position future contributions.