MoodLine and MoodMap Designing a Mood Function for a Mobile Application with and for Young Patients Maja van der Velden and Margaret Machniak Sommervold Department of Informatics University of Oslo Oslo, Norway majava@ifi.uio.no and magarma@ifi.uio.no Abstract—Tracking mood or emotional experiences over time is a popular function found in mobile health applications. In this study, young patients with chronic health challenges consider this also an important function of a multifunctional app supporting them in the transition to adult care. At the same time they expressed the need to be seen as a young person, not a diagnosed body. A lifeworld-led design approach, based on a Participatory Design methodology, resulted in a mood tracking and a mood mapping design, which was meaningful to the young persons’ everyday experiences. Photos tagged with colors representing different emotional states were chosen as the best way to represent their moods. An overview of moods, by day as well as by color, gives an understanding of the wider context in which these moods appear and can play a motivational role in dealing with a difficult day or episode in their lives. Keywords-Mobile health application; lifeworld; Participatory Design; teenagers; transition I. INTRODUCTION The KULU research and design project 1 focuses on the design and use of interactive technologies with and for young people (15-25 years old) with chronic health challenges. Mobile applications are popular among young people, but a systemic review showed that there is no empirical evidence for their beneficial use in the personal health management of young patients [1]. The review did emphasize the value of involving young patients in designing these apps [1]. This paper addresses the design of the mood function in a multifunctional mobile application (app). The aim of the app is to support young patients in the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare. Mood is often differentiated from acute emotional states, such as being angry, sad or happy. They last longer and are often not related to an immediate trigger: “mood state appears to be an integrative function of the organism’s acute emotional experiences over time” [2]. In the field of IT health, e-health, and m-health (health IT), this differentiation disappears when describing or designing mood technology. This becomes for example clear in [3], which categorizes mood technologies into Technology that measures mood; Technology that expresses user mood; Technology that adapts to user mood; and Technology that influences user mood. Another categorization of mood 1 KULU is a Norwegian acronym for Cool Technologies for Youth with Long-term Health Challenges (www.kulu.no/en) technology is diagnosis-based versus general mood. For example, mood apps can address specific mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder [4], anxiety disorders [5], and depression [6], or have a more general approach, such as happy apps [7]. Research focusing on apps for adolescent mental health report that the participation and adherence rate to treatment was higher for mobile phone apps than on paper [8][9], rating mood was seen as most useful [10], and “the ability of mobile phones to offer personal space is also considered to increase levels of perceived autonomy, control, and self- esteem in young users” [11]. Young people with chronic physical health challenges are more likely to have mood- related issues, ranging from emotional problems to mood disorders [12]. On the question about the preferred functions of an app that would support them in their transition to adult health care, a group of young chronic patients participating in KULU research proposed, among others, a mood tracking function. This paper presents and discusses the design of an app-based mood tracking functionality with and for young patients. The aim of the paper is to explore how we can design with and for young patients, while taking their whole being, as a teenager or young adult and as a patient, into consideration. The contribution of this paper is threefold. It contributes to designing interactive technologies from the perspective of young people with health challenges. A lifeworld-led design approach, combined with a participatory design methodology, enables patients to be met as co-designers and experts of their own lives and facilitates patient contributions to the design of health IT. Secondly, it contributes to understanding young patients’ lifeworlds. It shows how they value moods in their lives and the importance of taking a holistic perspective when tracking moods. Lastly, it contributes to understanding the role of technology in the lives of young people in general. Teenagers and young adults’ technology preferences and use are often very different from those of the researchers. Designing with the future users of a technology increases the chance that the technology reflects the values and needs of that particular user group. In Section II, we will first explore some concepts that support a holistic patient perspective in the design process of a lifeworld-led design approach. This is followed, in Section III, by a brief presentation of SHARM (Situation-based learning; Having a say; Adaptability; Respect; Mutual 214 Copyright (c) IARIA, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-61208-470-1 eTELEMED 2016 : The Eighth International Conference on eHealth, Telemedicine, and Social Medicine (with DIGITAL HEALTHY LIVING 2016 / MATH 2016)