Using mobile technology to guide people through self-experimentation to investigate health questions is a feasible and promising approach to advancing personalized health.

Many people appropriate social media and online communities in their pursuit of personal health goals, such as healthy eating or increased physical activity. However, people struggle with impression management, and with reaching the right audiences when they share health information on these platforms. Instagram, a popular photo-based social media platform, has attracted many people who post and share their food photos. We aim to inform the design of tools to support healthy behaviors by understanding how people appropriate Instagram to track and share food data, the benefits they obtain from doing so, and the challenges they encounter. We interviewed 16 women who consistently record and share what they eat on Instagram. Participants tracked to support themselves and others in their pursuit of healthy eating goals. They sought social support for their own tracking and healthy behaviors and strove to provide that support for others. People adapted their personal tracking practices to better receive and give this support. Applying these results to the design of health tracking tools has the potential to help people better access social support.

Patients going home after a hospitalization face many challenges. This transition period exposes patients to unnecessary risks related to inadequate preparation prior to leaving the hospital, potentially leading to errors and patient harm. Although patients engaging in self-management have better health outcomes and increased self-efficacy, little is known about the processes in place to support and develop these skills for patients leaving the hospital. Through qualitative interviews and observations of 28 patients during and after their hospitalizations, we explore the challenges they face transitioning from hospital care to self-management. We identify three key elements in this process: knowledge, resources, and self-efficacy. We describe how both system and individual factors contribute to breakdowns leading to ineffective patient management. This work expands our understanding of the unique challenges faced by patients during this difficult transition and uncovers important design opportunities for supporting crucial yet unmet patient needs.

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Informal caregivers, such as close friends and family, play an important role in a hospital patient’s care. Although CSCW researchers have shown the potential for social computing technologies to help patients and their caregivers manage chronic conditions and support health behavior change, few studies focus on caregivers’ role during a multi-day hospital stay. To explore this space, we conducted an interview and observation study of patients and caregivers in the inpatient setting. In this paper, we describe how caregivers and patients coordinate and collaborate to manage patients’ care and wellbeing during a hospital stay. We define and describe five roles caregivers adopt: companion, assistant, representative, navigator, and planner, and show how patients and caregivers negotiate these roles and responsibilities throughout a hospital stay. Finally, we identify key design considerations for technology to support patients and caregivers during a hospital stay.