Empowering Rural Caregivers Through Participatory Design: Lessons from the 3WINpA Project

Informal caregivers in rural areas face fragmented support, high mental load, and limited access to digital services. The Austrian 3WINpA - A Triple-Win Approach to Equity, Participation and Sustainability applied participatory Design Thinking to co-create hybrid solutions linking health, inclusion, and sustainability. In three workshops with caregivers, community nurses, and local stakeholders, participants developed and prioritized three concepts from which CareCompass, a digital-analogue network calendar for care coordination was prioritized. The CareCompass prototype, featuring offline use and simplified navigation, was tested and refined based on feedback. Results highlight improved visibility of support networks, reduced coordination stress, and the value of local facilitators for trust and adoption. Despite a small, region-specific sample, the study illustrates how equity-oriented co-design can produce inclusive, sustainable digital tools for underserved caregivers.