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Cited by 81Innovative Human-Technology InteractionMental Health via WritingDigital Mental Health Interventions

Exploring the Effects of Technological Writing Assistance for Support Providers in Online Mental Health Community

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Peng, Zhenhui, Guo, Qingyu, Tsang, Ka Wing, Ma, Xiaojuan·2020·Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
DOI 10.1145/3313831.3376695
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Abstract

Textual comments from peers with informational and emotional support are beneficial to members of online mental health communities (OMHCs). However, many comments are not of high quality in reality. Writing support technologies that assess (AS) the text or recommend (RE) writing examples on the fly could potentially help support providers to improve the quality of their comments. However, how providers perceive and work with such technologies are under-investigated. In this paper, we present a technological prototype MepsBot which offers providers in-situ writing assistance in either AS or RE mode. Results of a mixed-design study with 30 participants show that both types of MepsBots improve users' confidence in and satisfaction with their comments. The AS-mode MepsBot encourages users to refine expressions and is deemed easier to use, while the RE-mode one stimulates more support-related content re-editions. We report concerns on MepsBot and propose design considerations for writing support technologies in OMHCs.

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Authors
Peng, Z., Guo, Q., Tsang, K. W., & Ma, X.
Affiliations
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Publisher
ACM
Published
2020-04-21
Pages
1-15
DOI
10.1145/3313831.3376695
OpenAlex
W3029595001
Cited by
81
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3
FWCI
6.21
Type
conference paper
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.acm.org/publications/policies/copyright_policy#Background (vor)
Locations
  • CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (publishedVersion)
  • Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (16204819)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Keywords
online mental health communities, writing support, peer support, text quality assessment, user confidence, user satisfaction, design considerations

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