On June 3rd and 4th, the DemiCare+ project took a meaningful step forward in shaping its new health plan inside the Coachi app by engaging directly with those who know caregiving best: informal caregivers.
Thoughtfully structured sessions
Through a series of three co-design sessions (1.5 hours each) held in The Netherlands, a total of six caregivers shared their experiences, needs, and ideas to help design a tool tailored to their daily lives and challenges. These sessions, organized with internal participants from Vilans (one of the DemiCare+ project partners), were thoughtfully structured to gather both qualitative insights and concrete design suggestions.
The sessions began with a brief introduction and a light warm-up activity to ease participants into the process. Caregivers were then asked to fill out a weekly planner, guided by questions to help map out their caregiving tasks and routines in a week. This task resulted in group discussions that gave valuable insight into the daily realities and emotional load of informal caregiving.
It continued with a creative brainstorming activity, where participants were encouraged to list all the features that they would find useful in the DemiCare+ health plan. These ideas were captured on sticky notes, categorized, and analysed to highlight which features were most requested. This approach ensured that the app’s design will genuinely reflect caregivers' priorities and preferences.
To further explore the integration of technology, the participants discussed three key areas:
- the use of smartwatch data,
- access to their electronic health records,
- and interaction with an AI chatbot.
These discussions provided the project team with a deeper understanding of caregivers’ attitudes toward data privacy, digital support tools, and smart technologies in healthcare.
Continuing engagement and international collaboration
The workshops concluded with an evaluation, during which participants shared their overall experiences and indicated whether they would like to remain involved in future stages of development. Their continued involvement will help ensure that the app evolves in line with user expectations and real-world caregiving needs.
This Summer, DemiCare+ project partner AIT in Austria will replicate these workshops with a similar format, adapted to suit their local participant group. Meanwhile, the Dutch team has already started developing initial design concepts based on the valuable insights from their sessions. These concepts will soon be evaluated by the original participants, and the outcomes from Austria will be compared and integrated with the Dutch findings.
Towards a thoughtfully designed digital health tool
The final version of the DemiCare+ health plan will be assessed for functionality, feasibility, aesthetics, and personalization. With ongoing input from informal caregivers, the DemiCare+ team is committed to building a digital support tool that not only meets users where they are, but also empowers them in their caregiving journeys.
