Short answer

Designers should move beyond individual-centric health solutions and create systems that support and integrate key support figures, such as romantic partners, into the user's journey.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: PLoS ONE (2021)
Method: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)
Sample: 120 dyads (240 individuals)
Evidence: Strong effect

Involving romantic partners in lifestyle interventions for Black prostate cancer survivors can lead to greater success in adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors than focusing solely on the individual. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2021 study published in PLoS ONE. Using Ecological momentary assessment (ema) with 120 dyads (240 individuals), researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should move beyond individual-centric health solutions and create systems that support and integrate key support figures, such as romantic partners, into the user's journey.

Study

User-Centred DesignHigh ImpactStrong effect

Dyadic support significantly enhances healthy lifestyle adoption in Black prostate cancer survivors.

PLoS ONE · 2021

Key Findings

01Romantic partners play a pivotal role in the survivorship period of cancer patients.
02Integrating partners into survivorship care and broadening intervention focus to the dyad may facilitate healthy lifestyle behavior adoption and maintenance.

Application

Design takeaway

Designers should move beyond individual-centric health solutions and create systems that support and integrate key support figures, such as romantic partners, into the user's journey.

How to apply

When designing health and wellness programs, consider how to incorporate and empower the support networks of the target users. This could involve co-designing features or communication strategies that involve partners.

Project actions

01Consider the social context of your users and how their relationships might impact their engagement with your design.
02Explore methods for gathering data on dyadic interactions or support systems.

Method & Evidence

AimHow can ecological momentary assessment inform the development of dyadic lifestyle behavior interventions for Black prostate cancer survivors and their partners?

MethodEcological Momentary Assessment (EMA)

ProcedureBlack prostate cancer survivors and their romantic partners completed daily smartphone surveys for 14 consecutive days, reporting on lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, eating), stress, and coping. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were objectively measured using accelerometers, and eating behaviors were assessed using a dietary assessment tool. Initial and final retrospective surveys were also administered.

Sample120 dyads (240 individuals)

ContextProstate cancer survivorship care, behavioral interventions

Variables

IVInclusion of romantic partner in intervention

DVAdoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behaviors

CVType of cancer, demographic characteristics of survivor, duration of assessment, specific lifestyle behaviors measured

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Utilizes ecological momentary assessment for real-world data collection.
+Focuses on a specific, often underserved, population.

Limitations

The complexity of measuring and intervening in dyadic relationships can be challenging. Generalizing findings from one specific health context to others may not always be appropriate.

Reliability & validity

Reliability is enhanced by repeated daily assessments over 14 days. Validity is supported by objective measures (accelerometers) for physical activity, though self-report for other behaviors may introduce some limitations.

Think critically

To what extent can the principles of dyadic support be applied to other areas of design beyond health interventions, such as education or professional development?

Design Principles

"Design for relational support: Interventions and products should be designed to foster and leverage supportive relationships to enhance user outcomes."

This research highlights the critical role of social support systems in health behavior change. Designing interventions that acknowledge and leverage the survivor-partner relationship can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations.

What This Means for Your Design

When helping someone with a health goal, it's much more effective if their partner is involved too, because they can help each other stick to healthy habits.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this study when discussing the importance of social support or dyadic relationships in your design project's user research or justification for design choices.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This research underscores the significance of dyadic support in health behavior change, particularly for vulnerable populations. By integrating romantic partners into intervention design, as demonstrated with Black prostate cancer survivors, designers can foster more effective adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behaviors. This highlights the need to consider the broader social ecosystem surrounding a user when developing design solutions.

Source

PLoS ONE

Study protocol: One plus one can be greater than two—Ecological momentary assessment for Black prostate cancer survivors and partners

journal · 2021

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about dyadic support significantly enhances healthy lifestyle adoption in black prostate cancer survivors?: Designers should move beyond individual-centric health solutions and create systems that support and integrate key support figures, such as romantic partners, into the user's journey. Evidence: PLoS ONE (2021).
Why does "Dyadic support significantly enhances healthy lifestyle adoption in Black prostate cancer survivors." matter for design?: This research highlights the critical role of social support systems in health behavior change. Designing interventions that acknowledge and leverage the survivor-partner relationship can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations.
How can designers apply this research?: Designers should move beyond individual-centric health solutions and create systems that support and integrate key support figures, such as romantic partners, into the user's journey.
What were the main findings?: Romantic partners play a pivotal role in the survivorship period of cancer patients.. Integrating partners into survivorship care and broadening intervention focus to the dyad may facilitate healthy lifestyle behavior adoption and maintenance.
What research method was used?: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) with 120 dyads (240 individuals).
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2021 journal from PLoS ONE.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing health and wellness programs, consider how to incorporate and empower the support networks of the target users. This could involve co-designing features or communication strategies that involve partners.
What are the limitations?: The study focuses on a specific demographic (Black prostate cancer survivors and their partners) and may not be generalizable to all cancer survivor populations or relationship types. The reliance on self-report for some data introduces potential biases.