Short answer
Design digital health interventions collaboratively with your target users, ensuring flexibility and a phased approach to behavior change.
- Field
- User-Centred Design
- Source
- Frontiers in Digital Health (2025)
- Method
- Qualitative research using a co-design framework.
- Sample
- 12 participants (8 older adults, 4 allied health professionals)
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Involving end-users and allied health professionals in the co-design process of digital health interventions leads to a more tailored product that respects user autonomy and supports incremental behavior change. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Frontiers in Digital Health. Using Qualitative research using a co-design framework. with 12 participants (8 older adults, 4 allied health professionals), researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design digital health interventions collaboratively with your target users, ensuring flexibility and a phased approach to behavior change.
Co-designing digital health interventions yields greater user autonomy and gradual behavior change.
Involving end-users and allied health professionals in the co-design process of digital health interventions leads to a more tailored product that respects user autonomy and supports incremental behavior change.
Frontiers in Digital Health · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Older adults desired both support and autonomy in health behavior change interventions.
- 02A step-by-step approach was preferred for gradual behavior modification to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- 03Co-design facilitated the tailoring of the intervention to the specific needs of the target audience.
Application
Design takeaway
Design digital health interventions collaboratively with your target users, ensuring flexibility and a phased approach to behavior change.
How to apply
When designing any user-facing digital product, especially in health, initiate a co-design process with a diverse group of end-users and relevant experts to ensure the product meets their nuanced needs and preferences.
Project actions
- 01Involve your target users early and often in the design process.
- 02Observe how users interact with prototypes and ask them to explain their decisions.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Direct involvement of the target population.
- +Application of a structured design process (Double Diamond).
Limitations
The number of participants was small, and the co-design process might be time-consuming for some projects.
Reliability & validity
The use of multiple data collection methods (audio, screen recording, printouts) and a systematic analysis approach (reflexive thematic and content analysis) enhances the reliability and validity of the findings.
Think critically
How might the 'double diamond' process have been adapted to further empower participants and reduce potential researcher bias in documentation?
Design Principles
"Empower users by involving them in the design process and offering adaptable pathways for change."
This approach ensures that digital health tools are not only functional but also resonate with the lived experiences and preferences of the target audience. By prioritizing user input, designers can create interventions that are more likely to be adopted, adhered to, and ultimately effective in promoting health behaviors.
What This Means for Your Design
When you design something for people, it's best to ask them what they want and how they want it. This study showed that older people wanted to be in control of their health changes but also have support, and they liked making small steps instead of big ones all at once.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when justifying the use of co-design methods in your design project to gather user requirements and validate design decisions.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The co-design process, as demonstrated by Blake et al. (2025), is a valuable methodology for developing user-centered digital interventions. Their work highlights how involving end-users and professionals in workshops can lead to a product that respects user autonomy and supports gradual behavior change, ensuring greater relevance and potential for adoption.
Source
Frontiers in Digital Health
Co-design of a digital 24-hour time-use intervention with older adults and allied health professionals
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about co-designing digital health interventions yields greater user autonomy and gradual behavior change?
- Design digital health interventions collaboratively with your target users, ensuring flexibility and a phased approach to behavior change. Evidence: Frontiers in Digital Health (2025).
- Why does "Co-designing digital health interventions yields greater user autonomy and gradual behavior change." matter for design?
- This approach ensures that digital health tools are not only functional but also resonate with the lived experiences and preferences of the target audience. By prioritizing user input, designers can create interventions that are more likely to be adopted, adhered to, and ultimately effective in promoting health behaviors.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design digital health interventions collaboratively with your target users, ensuring flexibility and a phased approach to behavior change.
- What were the main findings?
- Older adults desired both support and autonomy in health behavior change interventions.. A step-by-step approach was preferred for gradual behavior modification to avoid feeling overwhelmed.. Co-design facilitated the tailoring of the intervention to the specific needs of the target audience.
- What research method was used?
- Qualitative research using a co-design framework. with 12 participants (8 older adults, 4 allied health professionals).
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Frontiers in Digital Health.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing any user-facing digital product, especially in health, initiate a co-design process with a diverse group of end-users and relevant experts to ensure the product meets their nuanced needs and preferences.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focused on a specific age group and health behavior, and the co-design process may vary for different populations and intervention types.