The d-HealthyLife Round Table on co-creation methods

Involving stakeholders in the creation process improves the effectiveness of the digital health

The EIT Health project dHealthyLife organized a Round Table to develop digital health products within the Mobile Week Barcelona. Mobile phone apps and wearable technology have a great potential to prevent and treat several diseases. But are the existing products truly used? The high turnover and short lifecycle of most digital health solutions and products is evidence of the limited uptake and scarce adherence by their intended users, hence their minimal public health impact.

In order to ensure optimal uptake and sustained use of digital health products, the whole range of targeted users should be mapped out and involved from the concept stage of product development, so that the solutions delivered meet their priorities, motivations, needs and expectations, and draw on their specific knowledge and skills.

The Round Table took place within the Mobile Week Barcelona, an event that precedes the Mobile World Congress. Marco Pugliese, the EIT Health Spain Managing Director, and Toni Gual, head of the Unit of Addictions and Lifestyles in the Hospital Clínic, welcomed the attendants and introduced the d-HealthyLife project.

Four working groups were created to brainstorm about modifiable life habits, such as physical exercise, nutrition, smoking, and drug use. During the activity, attendees tried to define what co-creation is, as well as identify which stakeholders should participate in the development of digital tools. They also explored the role that co-creation should play in the validation of digital health applications and in the design of business models.

The d-HealthyLife course is an EIT Health project campus promoted by the Hospital Clínic, the Clinic Foundation, the University of Barcelona, and the Maastricht University. It aims to close the existing gap in attitudes, knowledge, and skills of digital health developers with respect to the potential of user involvement in all stages of the development and commercialisation of a new service or product. This programme will train digital health developers to efficiently and sustainably involve their targeted customer groups in all product co-creation processes.

Click here for the dHealthyLife Online Consultation survey.

For further enquiries contact:

Cristina Rubio, cristina.rubio@eithealth.eu