User-centred health design: Reflections on D4D’s experiences and challenges

There is increasing recognition of the importance of user-centred design and testing in the healthcare technology domain. Challenges associated with user and stakeholder involvement in designing solutions for healthcare are recognized in the literature and need to be addressed to facilitate the development of new technology that is usable and acceptable to the end-user. The Devices for Dignity Health Technology Cooperative (D4D) has been involved in a range of technology development projects with an underpinning approach of addressing unmet needs through user involvement. This paper provides practical examples of some of the challenges that occur at different stages during a user-centred design process including ethical approval processes; stakeholder and user recruitment and involvement; eliciting needs from users regarding sensitive and personal issues; and interdisciplinary working. The paper will describe some of the strategies that have been employed by D4D to overcome these challenges and facilitate technology development.