Short answer

When designing for vulnerable populations, prioritize building trust through established channels and ensure equitable participation by providing clear communication and fair compensation. Use structured methods to manage feature prioritization transparently.

Field
User-Centred Design
Source
Health Expectations (2025)
Method
Participatory co-design workshops and focus groups.
Evidence
Strong effect

Effective co-design of digital health interventions with young people, particularly those who have experienced sensitive issues like technology-assisted sexual abuse, necessitates collaboration with trusted organizations, clear communication, fair remuneration, and structured prioritization methods. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Health Expectations. Using Participatory co-design workshops and focus groups., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: When designing for vulnerable populations, prioritize building trust through established channels and ensure equitable participation by providing clear communication and fair compensation. Use structured methods to manage feature prioritization transparently.

Study
User-Centred DesignNew This WeekStrong effect

Co-designing Digital Health Interventions with Vulnerable Youth Requires Trusted Partnerships and Transparent Prioritization

Effective co-design of digital health interventions with young people, particularly those who have experienced sensitive issues like technology-assisted sexual abuse, necessitates collaboration with trusted organizations, clear communication, fair remuneration, and structured prioritization methods.

Health Expectations · 2025

01

Key Findings

  • 01Involving trusted organizations is crucial for recruiting participants from vulnerable populations.
  • 02Clear communication, structured processes (e.g., Terms of Reference), and financial remuneration are essential for promoting equity and engagement.
  • 03Agile development methods allow for iterative refinement based on user feedback.
  • 04The MoSCoW method provides transparency in feature prioritization when faced with time and budget limitations.
02

Application

Design takeaway

When designing for vulnerable populations, prioritize building trust through established channels and ensure equitable participation by providing clear communication and fair compensation. Use structured methods to manage feature prioritization transparently.

How to apply

Before starting a co-design process with a sensitive or hard-to-reach user group, identify and partner with relevant community organizations. Establish clear guidelines and compensation for participants, and use a method like MoSCoW to prioritize features collaboratively.

Project actions

  • 01When selecting user groups, consider their potential vulnerabilities and how to best support their participation.
  • 02Document the co-design process thoroughly, including how decisions were made and how user feedback was incorporated.
03

Method & Evidence

AimTo explore the co-design process of a digital health intervention for young people exposed to technology-assisted sexual abuse, focusing on advancing patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE).
MethodParticipatory co-design workshops and focus groups.
ProcedureA Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG) was formed and collaborated with the research team through four workshops. Activities included identifying app features and content, providing feedback on prototypes, discussing priorities for functionality and trial design, and refining user-facing materials. The MoSCoW method was used for feature prioritization.
ContextDigital health intervention development for young people experiencing technology-assisted sexual abuse.

Variables

IV["Partnership with trusted organizations","Clarity of communication","Financial remuneration","Structured prioritization methods (MoSCoW)","Agile development"]
DV["Effectiveness of PPIE","User engagement","App design features","Content refinement","Prioritization of app functions"]
CV["Nature of the digital health intervention","Specific user group (young people with TASA experience)","Research team's expertise"]
04

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

  • +Direct involvement of lived experience in the design process.
  • +Use of established methods for user engagement and feature prioritization.
  • +Focus on a critical and under-reported area of digital health.

Limitations

It can be challenging to recruit a diverse group of participants from vulnerable populations, and time and budget constraints can limit the scope of features that can be implemented.

Reliability & validity

Reliability could be enhanced by using standardized protocols for workshops and data collection. Validity is strengthened by the direct involvement of the target user group in the design process, ensuring the findings reflect their needs and experiences.

Think critically

How might the challenges of limited diversity within the LEAG and potential time/budget constraints have influenced the final design of the intervention, and what alternative approaches could have mitigated these issues?

05

Design Principles

"Engage vulnerable user groups through trusted intermediaries and employ transparent prioritization frameworks to ensure equitable and effective co-design."

This research highlights that engaging vulnerable user groups in the design process is not just about gathering feedback, but about building trust and ensuring equitable participation. Designers must consider the broader ecosystem of support and employ transparent methods to manage expectations and resource constraints.

06

What This Means for Your Design

When designing apps for young people who have gone through tough experiences, it's best to work with groups they already trust. Make sure everyone understands what's happening, pay them for their time, and use a clear system to decide which features are most important.

How to use in your project

  • 1.Reference this study when discussing the importance of user involvement, especially with vulnerable populations, and how to manage the co-design process effectively.
07

Add to My Project

08

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

The co-design process for digital health interventions, particularly with vulnerable populations such as young people who have experienced technology-assisted sexual abuse, necessitates a strong emphasis on trust-building and equitable engagement. As demonstrated by Bucci et al. (2025), partnering with established organizations is crucial for recruitment, and clear communication, structured processes, and fair remuneration are vital for promoting participant involvement. Furthermore, transparent feature prioritization methods, like MoSCoW, are essential for managing project scope within resource limitations, ensuring that the most critical user needs are addressed.

09

Source

Health Expectations

Reporting on a Partnership to Co‐Design a Digital Health Intervention With Young People Who Have Experienced Technology‐Assisted Sexual Abuse

journal · 2025

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about co-designing digital health interventions with vulnerable youth requires trusted partnerships and transparent prioritization?
When designing for vulnerable populations, prioritize building trust through established channels and ensure equitable participation by providing clear communication and fair compensation. Use structured methods to manage feature prioritization transparently. Evidence: Health Expectations (2025).
Why does "Co-designing Digital Health Interventions with Vulnerable Youth Requires Trusted Partnerships and Transparent Prioritization" matter for design?
This research highlights that engaging vulnerable user groups in the design process is not just about gathering feedback, but about building trust and ensuring equitable participation. Designers must consider the broader ecosystem of support and employ transparent methods to manage expectations and resource constraints.
How can designers apply this research?
When designing for vulnerable populations, prioritize building trust through established channels and ensure equitable participation by providing clear communication and fair compensation. Use structured methods to manage feature prioritization transparently.
What were the main findings?
Involving trusted organizations is crucial for recruiting participants from vulnerable populations.. Clear communication, structured processes (e.g., Terms of Reference), and financial remuneration are essential for promoting equity and engagement.. Agile development methods allow for iterative refinement based on user feedback.. The MoSCoW method provides transparency in feature prioritization when faced with time and budget limitations.
What research method was used?
Participatory co-design workshops and focus groups..
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Health Expectations.
What should I do differently in my next project?
Before starting a co-design process with a sensitive or hard-to-reach user group, identify and partner with relevant community organizations. Establish clear guidelines and compensation for participants, and use a method like MoSCoW to prioritize features collaboratively.
What are the limitations?
Limited diversity within the LEAG and potential time/budget constraints impacting feature integration.