Participatory design methods to co-design and co-produce digital health technology with adolescents

Aim: Young people are keen to interact with clinicians using digital health technologies. Further, active engagement of experts by experience (including adolescents with bipolar disorder) has many benefits. This project aimed to use participatory design methodology to co-develop and co-produce digital health technologies to improve outcomes for adolescent bipolar disorder.

Method: Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder and their families attended 6 weekly workshops. Opinions elicited during each workshop were analysed qualitatively with HCI team to inform the agenda for the subsequent workshop.

Results: The workshops were informed by the tenets of experience-centred design meaning workshop activities were designed to reveal the felt life of adolescents with Bipolar Disorder. These workshops enabled the research team to focus on the following themes: what it is like to live with Bipolar Disorder, areas where the participants most felt support was needed, ways in which required support could be provided and potential issues that may impact acceptability of any digital health technology to support self-management of Bipolar Disorder.

Conclusions: It is not only feasible to work with adolescents with bipolar disorder and their families but crucial in the successful uptake of digital health technologies co-designed and co-produced. The next steps will include developing prototypes of the technology and assess its usability.