Human-Centered Design and Development in Digital Health: Approaches, Challenges, and Emerging Trends

Human-centered design (HCD) has emerged as a critical approach for developing digital health technologies that are usable, acceptable, and effective within complex healthcare environments. Rooted in systems theory, ergonomics, and information systems research, HCD prioritizes the needs, capabilities, and limitations of diverse user groups - including patients, clinicians, and caregivers - throughout the design and implementation process. This review synthesizes current applications of HCD in four key domains: brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence (AI)-based clinical decision support systems AI-CDSS, and mobile health (mHealth) technologies. It explores design frameworks, usability strategies, and models of human-technology collaboration that contribute to successful adoption and sustained use. Ethical and legal considerations - such as data privacy, informed consent, and algorithmic fairness - are also addressed, particularly in contexts involving biometric and neurophysiological data. While HCD practices have shown substantial potential to improve digital health outcomes, their implementation remains uneven across technologies and settings. Emerging trends, including adaptive personalization, explainable AI, and participatory co-design, are identified as promising directions for the development of more inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable digital health innovations.