Short answer

Designers should actively recruit and involve a diverse range of healthcare professionals in co-design activities, ensuring their practical experiences and identified pain points directly inform the platform's features and functionality.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: JMIR Formative Research (2026)
Method: Mixed Methods Study
Sample: 17 design sessions observed, number of interviewed professionals not specified.
Evidence: Strong effect

Actively engaging healthcare professionals throughout the human-centered design process of digital collaborative care platforms leads to greater alignment with user needs and improved adoption. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2026 study published in JMIR Formative Research. Using Mixed methods study with 17 design sessions observed, number of interviewed professionals not specified., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should actively recruit and involve a diverse range of healthcare professionals in co-design activities, ensuring their practical experiences and identified pain points directly inform the platform's features and functionality.

Study

User-Centred DesignNew This WeekStrong effect

Healthcare professional involvement in digital platform design boosts adoption and efficacy.

Actively engaging healthcare professionals throughout the human-centered design process of digital collaborative care platforms leads to greater alignment with user needs and improved adoption.

JMIR Formative Research · 2026

Key Findings

01Healthcare professionals were motivated to participate due to professional interest, social encouragement, and a desire to improve practice.
02Participants valued the open and informal atmosphere of the design sessions.
03Professionals perceived their role as actively sharing practical experiences and identifying system bottlenecks.

Application

Design takeaway

How to apply

When designing any digital tool for a professional group, schedule regular workshops, interviews, and usability testing sessions with representatives from that group throughout the entire design lifecycle.

Project actions

01Clearly define the target user group for your design project.
02Plan multiple touchpoints for user feedback, not just at the end.

Method & Evidence

AimTo understand the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals during the human-centered design of a digital collaborative care platform.

MethodMixed Methods Study

ProcedureObservations of design sessions and semistructured interviews with healthcare professionals were conducted to gather data on their experiences with the participatory design process.

Sample17 design sessions observed, number of interviewed professionals not specified.

ContextDevelopment of a digital platform for work-focused healthcare collaboration between occupational and curative health sectors.

Variables

IVInvolvement of healthcare professionals in the HCD process.

DVPerceptions and experiences of healthcare professionals with the HCD approach; effectiveness and usability of the digital platform.

CVType of digital platform (collaborative care), specific healthcare sectors involved (occupational and curative).

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Employs a mixed-methods approach for comprehensive data collection.
+Focuses on a real-world design process, providing practical insights.

Limitations

It can be challenging to recruit busy professionals for extended design involvement, and their feedback might reflect personal preferences rather than broader user needs.

Reliability & validity

The use of mixed methods (observation and interviews) enhances the validity of the findings by providing triangulation of data. Reliability would depend on the consistency of observational coding and interview analysis.

Think critically

How might the traditional separation of healthcare sectors influence the willingness or ability of professionals to collaborate on digital platform design?

Design Principles

"User engagement in design processes leads to more relevant and effective solutions."

Designing digital health tools without direct input from the intended users, especially in complex, multi-sectoral environments like healthcare, risks creating solutions that are impractical or fail to address real-world challenges. This research highlights that involving professionals early and often ensures the final product is functional, user-friendly, and ultimately more effective in improving care delivery.

What This Means for Your Design

When designing new digital tools for doctors and nurses, it's really important to ask them what they think and get them involved in the design process. They know what works in real life, and their feedback helps make the tool actually useful and easy to use.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this study when justifying your user research methods, particularly if you are involving end-users in the design of a professional tool.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This research underscores the critical importance of user-centered design in the development of professional digital tools. By actively involving healthcare professionals in the design process, as demonstrated in the study by Zipfel et al. (2026), designers can ensure that platforms are aligned with practical needs, thereby increasing their efficacy and adoption rates. This approach validates the necessity of iterative user feedback loops to identify and address real-world bottlenecks.

Source

JMIR Formative Research

Involving Health Care Professionals in the Human-Centered Design of a Digital Platform for Work-Focused Health Care: Lessons From a Mixed Methods Study

journal · 2026

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about healthcare professional involvement in digital platform design boosts adoption and efficacy?: Designers should actively recruit and involve a diverse range of healthcare professionals in co-design activities, ensuring their practical experiences and identified pain points directly inform the platform's features and functionality. Evidence: JMIR Formative Research (2026).
Why does "Healthcare professional involvement in digital platform design boosts adoption and efficacy." matter for design?: Designing digital health tools without direct input from the intended users, especially in complex, multi-sectoral environments like healthcare, risks creating solutions that are impractical or fail to address real-world challenges. This research highlights that involving professionals early and often ensures the final product is functional, user-friendly, and ultimately more effective in improving care delivery.
How can designers apply this research?: Designers should actively recruit and involve a diverse range of healthcare professionals in co-design activities, ensuring their practical experiences and identified pain points directly inform the platform's features and functionality.
What were the main findings?: Healthcare professionals were motivated to participate due to professional interest, social encouragement, and a desire to improve practice.. Participants valued the open and informal atmosphere of the design sessions.. Professionals perceived their role as actively sharing practical experiences and identifying system bottlenecks.
What research method was used?: Mixed Methods Study with 17 design sessions observed, number of interviewed professionals not specified..
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2026 journal from JMIR Formative Research.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing any digital tool for a professional group, schedule regular workshops, interviews, and usability testing sessions with representatives from that group throughout the entire design lifecycle.
What are the limitations?: The study does not specify the exact number of interviewed professionals, and the long-term impact of the platform on actual collaborative care was not assessed.