Co‑creation is becoming a cornerstone of successful digital health innovation. Instead of designing systems in isolation, co‑creation brings clinicians, caregivers, and patients into the process from the very beginning, ensuring technology truly fits real‑world needs.
Why Co‑Creation Matters
Healthcare professionals are often under intense time pressure, and new digital tools can feel like an added burden rather than a help. When users are excluded from the design process, systems risk becoming confusing, inefficient, or simply unusable, leading to frustration and poor adoption.
Co‑creation solves this by allowing users to directly influence how a system works. Their insights reveal workflow bottlenecks, missing information, or design choices that don’t match clinical logic. This leads to tools that feel intuitive and aligned with everyday practice.
Lessons From the ICAREWOUNDS Project
In the ICAREWOUNDS platform, clinicians were involved early to evaluate the interface used for patient registration, wound documentation, image upload, and AI‑driven dressing recommendations. Their feedback highlighted where navigation felt unclear, where cognitive load increased, and where the system needed stronger guidance.
By engaging domain experts, the project ensured that the platform reflects actual wound‑care workflows rather than assumptions made by developers. This is exactly what co‑creation is meant to achieve a system that adapts to users, not the other way around.
Different Users, Different Needs
The platform includes two interfaces: one for clinicians and one for patients. These groups interact with technology in very different ways:
- Clinicians need efficient, flexible workflows and the ability to quickly undo or correct actions.
- Patients and caregivers may need simpler navigation, fewer choices, and clearer support messages.
Co‑creation acknowledges these differences. While Phase 1 of the study focused on clinicians, Phase 2 will also engage patients and caregivers to understand what features matter most to them and how the interface can best support their daily routines.
Co‑creation improves more than usability, it builds trust. When users see their feedback integrated into real design changes, they become active supporters of the system instead of reluctant adopters.
In digital health, where adoption can make or break the success of a tool, co‑creation is not optional. It is the safest, most effective path to creating solutions that truly enhance care.
ICAREWOUNDS project has received funding from the European Commission, ISCIII, NCBR, HRB, AKA and MUR under the framework the co-fund partnership of Transforming Health and Care Systems, THCS, (GA N° 101095654 of the EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme)
Award nº AC23_2/00048 and nº AC23_2/00031 by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through AES 2023 and within the THCS Partnership.
The content of this publication represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.