Co-Designing Emotion: Supporting Positive Affect in a Culturally Sensitive Application for African-American Heart Health

Heart disease is a leading cause of injury and death among African Americans in the United States. Culturally sensitive design of health technologies can be useful for motivating health behavior change, especially in underserved communities. Yet, designing culturally sensitive technologies requires careful consideration to identify appropriate approaches for tailoring applications to the needs of the target population. In the paper, we explore the relationship between user values and emotions for informing the design of a culturally sensitive heart health application for African Americans. We partner with members and local community advocates involved in an existing evidenced-based community heart health intervention to understand their values and explore implications for designing for positive emotional experiences in a future digital application. We contribute a discussion of emotional intentions important to the design of a future application and suggestions for designers of similar applications.