Background: Mainstream social networks only partly meet the needs of people with chronic conditions, exposing users to fragmented features, limited moderation, and unreliable content.
Objective: To design and prototype a patient-dedicated social network "Dubble" aligned with explicit and implicit user needs.
Methods: We applied user-centered design: interviews (n=5), focus group (n=7), and card sorting (2x4) to derive personas, an experience map, the information architecture, and a Figma prototype.
Results: Three primary needs emerged: emotional support (100%), experience sharing (80%), belonging (60%), plus non-social requirements: confidentiality (40%) and information reliability (100%). Participants were reluctant to use public platforms due to misinformation, fake accounts, and hostile behavior, and wanted relationships that can extend to in-person meetings (60%). The prototype comprises four sections: Home (experience feed), Community (thematic groups and activities), Dubble (one-to-one pairing to mitigate "mass effect"), and Resources (vetted information).
Conclusions: Early findings translate user priorities into features that support sharing, belonging, close-knit peer support, and trustworthy information. A larger evaluation will assess usability, acceptability, and psychosocial impact.
Keywords: Chronic disease; Social networking; User-centered design.