ADAPT researcher at the Technological University of Dublin, Ekaterina Uetova, has had her research, “Understanding Group Engagement in Online Peer Support Groups: Influence of Structured Elements and Organic Interactions,” accepted to ACM CHI 2025, one of the world’s leading conferences on Human-Computer Interaction. The conference will take place in Yokohama, Japan, from 26 April to 1 May 2025 and had 1,888 complete submissions this year, with only 620 accepted.
The paper was co-written by Dr Lucy Hederman (Trinity College Dublin), Dr Robert Ross (Technological University Dublin), Dr Marily Oppezzo (Stanford University), and Dr Dympna O’Sullivan (Technological University Dublin).
Online peer support groups (OPSGs) have been widely used in health and wellbeing interventions, but their effectiveness varies, influenced by the level of group engagement and the quality of interactions. This study explores the impact of structured elements, such as prompts and tasks, incorporated into OPSG design on peer support quality and group engagement. The authors analyse chat messages from two OPSGs aimed at reducing workplace sitting through exercise breaks. Despite identical study designs and similar participant demographics, the two OPSGs exhibited significant differences in group engagement, underscoring the importance of understanding group composition, organic interactions, and other factors influencing engagement. The findings emphasise the need for thoughtful OPSG design, including developing structured elements to foster communication and improve the quality of interactions. Based on the findings, the authors discuss strategies to promote supportive exchange, focusing on the role of prompts, group cohesion, and social presence to enhance the effectiveness of OPSGs.
The work is funded by the Research Ireland Centre for Research Training in Digitally-Enhanced Reality (d-real).
For more information on CHI 2025, visit: https://chi2025.acm.org and https://programs.sigchi.org/chi/2025/program/content/194401
