Co-designing digital health platforms with users significantly enhances usability and relevance.

Why It Matters

This approach moves beyond traditional user testing by embedding users as active collaborators from conception to validation. It leads to solutions that are not only functional but also desirable and practical for the intended audience, increasing the likelihood of adoption and positive impact.

Key Finding

By actively involving people with long-term health conditions in the design and testing of an online support platform, researchers were able to create a tool that was highly usable and aligned with user needs.

Key Findings

• Co-design process effectively identified unmet psychosocial needs.
• Iterative development based on user feedback led to a more usable and relevant platform prototype.
• Usability testing confirmed the platform's potential for supporting mental well-being.

Research Evidence

Aim: To develop and validate an online peer support platform for individuals with long-term physical health conditions through a co-production process.

Method: Participatory design and usability testing

Procedure: A four-stage co-production process (co-assess, co-design, co-validate, co-deliver) was employed, involving a research advisory group (including individuals with lived experience), a participatory design panel, and a separate group for usability testing. Methods included online focus groups, co-design workshops with software developers, think-aloud exercises, and semistructured interviews.

Sample Size: 23 participants (1 coinvestigator + 6 lived experience members in advisory group, 10 in participatory design panel, 12 in validation group)

Context: Digital health platforms for individuals with long-term physical health conditions.

Design Principle

User needs and experiences should be central to the iterative design and development process.

How to Apply

When developing any new digital tool or service, establish a diverse user advisory board and conduct iterative co-design workshops and usability tests with representative users.

Limitations

The study focused on a specific health condition group, and the co-delivery protocol was not fully implemented within this study.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: When you design something for people, it's best to ask them to help you design it from the start, not just test it at the end. This makes sure it's actually useful and easy to use for them.

Why This Matters: This approach ensures that your design project solves a real problem for real people in a way that they can actually use and benefit from.

Critical Thinking: How might the challenges of co-design (e.g., managing diverse opinions, ensuring equitable participation) be mitigated in a design project?

IA-Ready Paragraph: The development of user-centered digital solutions, particularly in healthcare, benefits significantly from co-production methodologies. As demonstrated by Jones et al. (2026), involving end-users throughout the design and validation phases ensures that the final product is not only functional but also highly usable and relevant to the target audience's lived experiences and needs.

Project Tips

• Involve your target users in brainstorming and prototyping sessions.
• Use feedback from user testing to make changes and test again.

How to Use in IA

• Reference this study when justifying your use of user-centered design methods, particularly co-design and iterative testing.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate how user feedback directly influenced design decisions and iterations.

Independent Variable: Involvement of end-users in co-design and co-validation processes.

Dependent Variable: Usability and perceived relevance of the online platform.

Controlled Variables: Type of health condition, digital literacy of participants, software development expertise.

Strengths

• Inclusion of individuals with lived experience in multiple stages.
• Iterative development process informed by user feedback.

Critical Questions

• To what extent can the findings be generalized to other digital health interventions?
• What are the long-term implications of co-designed platforms on user engagement and health outcomes?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the effectiveness of co-design in developing assistive technologies for specific disabilities.
• Explore how co-design principles can be applied to improve the usability of complex scientific or engineering software.

Source

Coproducing an Online Platform for People With Long-Term Physical Health Conditions: Development and Usability Study · Journal of Medical Internet Research · 2026 · 10.2196/79666