Community-based participatory-research through co-design: supporting collaboration from all sides of disability

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Disability Studies
• Participatory Research Methods

Background:

• Co-design and community-based participatory research are increasingly used in health and disability sectors.
• While the benefits of co-design for service improvement are recognized, practical implementation guidance ('how-to') is limited.
• This study addresses the gap by detailing the application of co-design from inception to completion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the practical application of co-design in a specific case study.
• To reflect on the challenges and benefits arising from specific process design choices in co-design.
• To provide insights into the 'how-to' of co-design implementation in disability research.

Main Methods:

• A telepractice re-design project served as the case study for co-design.
• Co-design was facilitated by an embedded researcher and a peer researcher with lived experience of disability.
• The process involved five workshops and a reflection session with 10 participants (lived experience and staff) to develop a prototype telepractice model.

Main Results:

• Process design choices were documented throughout the co-design implementation.
• Reflections from co-designers highlighted balancing idealism/realism, the value of small groups, accessibility, and skill development.
• Organizational and researcher reflections identified challenges related to relationship-building time, ethical processes, and inclusive dissemination.

Conclusions:

• Co-design is a valuable methodology for proactively including people with disability and service providers in research.
• Community-based participatory research, particularly co-design, is recommended for generating creative thinking and innovative service design.
• The study advocates for co-design as an outcome-generating approach in health and disability research.