Co-Design Processes for the Development of mRehabilitation (mRehab) Interventions For and With People with Disabilities

Thursday, November 10, 2022

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Presenter(s)

Rachel F. Adler

Associate Professor
Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, Illinois, United States

Slides Slides and Audio
Deborah Friedman

Physician
iSpine Rehabilitation, United States
David Victorson, PhD

Professor
Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Evanston, Illinois, United States
Susan Magasi (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States

Mobile rehabilitation (mRehab) holds great potential to close the “access gap” in rehabilitation services through self-management, symptom monitoring, and channels for education, peer support and information sharing. Despite exponential growth in mRehab tools, multiple barriers exist for consumers regarding their use and adoption. Proactively engaging stakeholders is recommended to help ensure mRehab tools are acceptable, accessible, and responsive. This symposium will introduce the “Co-Design Method” of engagement for mRehab interventions and applications for people with disabilities. Co-design, or participatory design, actively engages stakeholders as scientific team members and collaborators in all phases of the development and design process. Co-design workshops can be effective structures for team members to share information and engage in activities to help them better understand and empathize with the consumer experience. This presentation will describe the co-design process, including specific activities (e.g., persona and prototype development), practical examples, and recommendations for implementation with people with disabilities.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the importance of including people with disabilities in the co-design of mHealth tools and interventions
Identify stages and processes of mHealth app co-design including the development of personas, low- and high-fidelity prototypes
Differentiate phases in the iterative evaluation of mHealth tools and interventions.