Co-design in mental health; Mellow: a self-help holistic crisis planning mobile application by youth, for youth

Abstract

This paper reports on a community-based project to collaboratively research, design and test an integrated digital crisis planning tool for youth ages 13 to 24. Research goals included understanding: what crisis means to the target group and what strategies they employ for coping with crisis; the ways youth in crisis are most likely to communicate; how new technologies can help deliver the services youth need. The project was established with several guiding principles: that students should act as the front line researchers and designers with the guidance of faculty and community partners; that we should aim to move beyond consultation to truly participatory design methods involving end-users in needs identification, idea generation, design development and testing; and that by having the students interface with the end-users, we would alter the power balance by building trust and avoiding a top-down approach.

Practitioner review: Co‐design of digital mental health technologies with children and young people

“…Studies described how the process can involve all aspects of the technology, including content, design, accessibility, usability, data management/security, integration and implementation into users’ lives and everyday context (e.g. Hodson et al, 2019 ; Robinson et al, 2017 ; Thabrew et al, 2018 ; Werner-Seidler et al, 2017 ; Wiljer et al, 2017 ). A central need for co-design in the context of complex interventions is to understand the interaction of the technology within the complex psychosocial system within which it attempts to enact change ( Craig et al, 2008 ; Hawkins et al, 2017 ).…”

“…The process goes beyond involving CYP as a consultation or engagement exercise, but embraces a ‘democratic partnership’ with appropriate distribution of power, jointly exploring needs and creating possible solutions with CYP as ‘experts of their experiences’ (Thabrew et al, 2018). To help achieve this, Hodson et al (2019) describe four important elements: (a) engagement with users before the project starts; (b) acknowledging the potential power imbalance between practitioners/researchers and CYP, and involving all as both ‘providers’ and ‘recipients’; (c) establishing activities (e.g. workshops) where all participants collaborate to generate ideas, guided by a facilitator, to develop and refine the product, with users always ‘signing‐off’ on design proposals; (d) practitioners/researchers creating the final product according to project requirements, with possible further collaboration with users.…”

“…Whilst the principle of co-design of digital health technologies is becoming accepted, there is limited guidance and literature on how this can optimally be undertaken. Co-design requires a shift from the traditional practice of expert-led development work where interventions are designed ‘for’ to one where they are designed ‘with’ CYP ( Hodson et al, 2019 ). Designing and producing with CYP helps to ‘humanise’ the field of digital technologies which some have criticised for being overly structured, rigid and unresponsive.…”

Ensuring patient and public involvement in the transition to AI‐assisted mental health care: A systematic scoping review and agenda for design justice

“…Therapeutic potential of data‐rich environment, and increased self‐awareness and self‐management of mental health 62 , 86 , 117 , 133 , 134 plan ahead to avoid crisis 135 or prevent suicide 136 …”

“…The abundance of digital data has facilitated pharmacoepidemiology and, in particular, observational research on the effectiveness of real‐world medication. 133 Websites, social networking and smartphone apps 134 are allowing persons experiencing mental distress to self‐manage, access information about their conditions whenever and wherever they choose 62 , 86 , 117 and plan ahead to avoid crisis 135 or prevent suicide. 136 …”