Co-design with older adults and service providers yields more impactful community programs.
Involving end-users and service providers as active partners throughout the design process significantly enhances the relevance and effectiveness of community-focused programs.
Research Involvement and Engagement · 2023
Key Findings
- 01Older adult research partners were instrumental in the design, implementation, and evaluation phases.
- 02Lived expertise and community connections of older adults and service providers are valuable assets in research and program development.
- 03A participatory approach to engagement evaluation can assess diversity, satisfaction, and impact.
Application
Design takeaway
Integrate older adults and service providers as co-design partners from the outset to ensure community programs are relevant, effective, and well-received.
How to apply
When designing any community-facing program, establish a diverse advisory panel of target users and service providers who are compensated and empowered to contribute throughout the entire design lifecycle.
Project actions
- 01Identify your target users and any relevant service providers early on.
- 02Plan how you will involve them in your design process, not just for feedback, but for active contribution.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Employs a mixed-methods approach for comprehensive understanding.
- +Focuses on developmental evaluation for iterative improvement.
Limitations
It can be challenging to recruit and retain participants for co-design activities, and managing diverse opinions requires strong facilitation skills.
Reliability & validity
The use of multiple qualitative data sources (e.g., focus groups, thematic analysis) enhances the credibility and trustworthiness of the findings. The mixed-methods approach also provides triangulation of data.
Think critically
To what extent can the findings from a community mobility program be generalized to other design contexts, and what are the potential challenges in implementing true co-design in resource-constrained environments?
Design Principles
"Authentic user and stakeholder co-creation is essential for designing impactful community-based solutions."
This approach leverages lived expertise and existing community connections to ensure programs are not only user-appropriate but also more likely to be adopted and sustained. It moves beyond traditional user feedback to true collaborative creation.
What This Means for Your Design
When you design something for a specific group of people, it's much better if you ask those people to help you design it. They know what they need and what works best for them.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when justifying the inclusion of user testing or co-design workshops in your design process, particularly for community-focused projects.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2023). Evaluating the impact of engaging older adults and service providers as research partners in the co-design of a community mobility-promoting program: a mixed methods developmental evaluation study. Research Involvement and Engagement. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-023-00523-5 Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/91c08295-a623-442f-9b78-0542cb3e600c/co-design-with-older-adults-and-service-providers-yields-more-impactful-community-programs
Paragraph starter
The value of co-design, particularly with end-users and relevant stakeholders, is highlighted by research such as MacNeil et al. (2023), which found that involving older adults and service providers as research partners significantly enhanced the impact of community mobility programs by leveraging their lived expertise and community connections.
Source
Research Involvement and Engagement
Evaluating the impact of engaging older adults and service providers as research partners in the co-design of a community mobility-promoting program: a mixed methods developmental evaluation study
journal · 2023
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about co-design with older adults and service providers yields more impactful community programs?
- Integrate older adults and service providers as co-design partners from the outset to ensure community programs are relevant, effective, and well-received. Evidence: Research Involvement and Engagement (2023).
- Why does "Co-design with older adults and service providers yields more impactful community programs." matter for design?
- This approach leverages lived expertise and existing community connections to ensure programs are not only user-appropriate but also more likely to be adopted and sustained. It moves beyond traditional user feedback to true collaborative creation.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Integrate older adults and service providers as co-design partners from the outset to ensure community programs are relevant, effective, and well-received.
- What were the main findings?
- Older adult research partners were instrumental in the design, implementation, and evaluation phases.. Lived expertise and community connections of older adults and service providers are valuable assets in research and program development.. A participatory approach to engagement evaluation can assess diversity, satisfaction, and impact.
- What research method was used?
- Mixed-methods developmental evaluation.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2023 journal from Research Involvement and Engagement.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing any community-facing program, establish a diverse advisory panel of target users and service providers who are compensated and empowered to contribute throughout the entire design lifecycle.
- What are the limitations?
- The specific context of mobility programs may not directly translate to all community initiatives. The developmental evaluation approach focuses on iterative improvement, which might not capture long-term sustainability as directly.
- Is there evidence that older adults affects design outcomes?
- Engaging older adults and service providers as active co-design partners leads to better program development by incorporating their real-world knowledge and community ties. This approach leverages lived expertise and existing community connections to ensure programs are not only user-appropriate but also more likely to Source: Research Involvement and Engagement (2023).
- Where does this adults service research apply?
- Community health and mobility programs It sits within user-centred design research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
older adults design research · evidence on older adults · does older adults improve design outcomes · adults service studies for designers · older adults and adults service findings · user-centred design research evidence