Designing a Framework for Remote Cancer Care Through Community Co-design: Participatory Development Study

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• Telemedicine and remote patient monitoring show technology's potential in healthcare.
• Current methods for designing inclusive and resilient health systems are insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a participatory framework for co-designing effective healthcare solutions.
• To involve diverse stakeholders in creating health innovations.

Main Methods:

• Developed a co-design framework focused on cancer care communication and health problems.
• Utilized community engagement and lead-user innovation through structured design studios.
• Assessed prototype usability with the System Usability Scale and user feedback.

Main Results:

• Co-designed and tested the myPath mobile app and service model for cancer care coordination.
• The myPath app demonstrated superior usability compared to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer.
• Identified significant usability differences and noted variations in patient and provider feedback.

Conclusions:

• Community-based co-design and participatory problem definition can lead to more effective healthcare solutions.
• Design-with methods may outperform traditional design-for approaches in healthcare innovation.