Human-centred design thinking as a co-creation process: A commentary

Co-creation, a collaborative process of engaging with stakeholders to define complex problems and design solutions that are contextually relevant to stakeholders' needs, has gained traction in public health and preventive medicine to address "wicked problems" through meaningful engagement with stakeholders. The way in which co-creation approaches are used and/or described in public health are not always entirely clear. How might we enhance co-creation processes to improve health? The objective of this commentary is to argue for the integration of human-centred design thinking (HCDT) to direct co-creation processes by defining its framework and use of empathetic perspectives and iterative problem framing.

This commentary defines human-centred design thinking HCDT as a framework for co-creation with an emphasis on divergent and convergent thinking and introduces designer mindsets. The role of empathy and problem framing is explored using examples from the field.

This commentary argues for the added value of applying HCDT as an approach to co-creation in public health and provides tools associated with this process that can complement traditional co-creation processes, such as the Double Diamond model, HCDT field guides with detailed and established activities, "designerly ways of knowing", empathy mapping, and problem reframing.

By integrating HCDT into co-creation processes, we can foster deeper empathetic responses and problem framing through collaboration.