Supporting the Health and Well-being of Caregivers: Co-design in Practice at a Canadian Cardiac Care Center

Caregivers contribute substantially to patients' management of and recovery from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet, the distress that many caregivers experience in this role continues to be underresearched and their needs undersupported.

Situated within a patient engagement framework and adapted from experience-based co-design guidelines, the process of developing a comprehensive caregiver support resource with joint contributions from caregivers and healthcare providers representing multiple disciplines is described. A discussion of the challenges encountered during the development of the caregiver support resource and recommendations for future sites embarking on co-design work are noted.

Developing feasible and relevant approaches, such as informational support instruments, to meet the needs of the growing population of CVD caregivers is essential.

Although co-design processes are often complex, take more time and resources to implement, and involve multiple levels of an organization and community than traditional practices, these efforts may help to improve healthcare quality to stem the burden of CVD.