In healthcare, the principle of co-design actively involves people (patients, caregivers, family) as partners, ensuring that people with lived experience play a central role in shaping the care and services provided.
Patient Experience Agency. (2024, November 25). The fundamentals of co-design in healthcare. https://www.patientexperienceagency.com.au/blog/fundamentals-of-co-design-in-healthcare
People as Partners is one of the Nine Pillars of Integrated Care.
An important thing to keep in mind is that while the term "co-design" is often used interchangeably with “co-production” and “co-creation,” co-design specifically refers to the collaborative development of solutions with active participation from all collaborators involved, not just implementation or evaluation.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2018). Experience-Based Co-Design of Healthcare Services.
Miller, E., Winter, A., & Chari, S. (2024). How Designers Are Transforming Healthcare. Springer. A practical guide to transforming healthcare by design. Many examples, cases, and strategies for co-design.
Picker Institute Europe. (n.d.). EBCD: Experience Based Co-Design toolkit (Note: requires you sign up with an email address to access.)
Co-design is fundamentally about equal and reciprocal relationships between patients, families, providers, and other stakeholders, where all parties share power and agency throughout the design process. This means patients are not just consulted but are true partners in shaping solutions.
Patients and caregivers are recognized as experts of their own experiences. Their insights are central to identifying problems, generating ideas, and evaluating the effectiveness of solutions. This aligns with the “people as partners” principle, ensuring that healthcare services are grounded in real-world needs.
Effective co-design follows a structured approach, typically including stages such as understanding the problem, exploring experiences, developing and testing solutions, and implementing change.
Co-design intentionally seeks out diverse voices, especially from marginalized or underserved groups, to ensure solutions are accessible and equitable.
The process fosters mutual trust, respect, and capacity-building among all participants, enhancing engagement and leading to more sustainable, user-centered innovations.
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