Co‐Designing Wellbeing Initiatives With Rural Adolescents: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Rural Australian youth face persistent mental health inequities yet are rarely meaningfully involved in designing the services meant to support them. This study aimed to explore through co-design what rural young people need and want in their community to support their mental health and wellbeing, with a secondary aim of evaluating the co-design process itself. METHODS: Three co-design workshops were conducted with 20 participants (13 young people aged 12-17 years and seven adults) in Kimba, South Australia, using the Double Diamond design framework and PRODUCES co-production principles. Workshops followed a Discover-Define-Develop-Deliver progression. Qualitative content analysis of workshop outputs and focus group data informed findings, alongside descriptive analysis of post-workshop feedback surveys. Study findings were subsequently interpreted through the PROSECO process evaluation framework, applied retrospectively. RESULTS: Co-designers prioritised practical, occupation-based wellbeing activities, ultimately prototyping a Basic Car Maintenance Workshop and a community Colour Fun Run. Most participants reported feeling able to contribute (72%) and that the process was helpful (96%). Five themes emerged from the process evaluation: factors influencing engagement, experiences of the co-design process, workshop environment and participation, impact and continuation, and voice and inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: Flexible, context-sensitive facilitation, anonymous contribution methods, and deliberate management of group dynamics were critical enablers of meaningful youth participation in this rural setting. SO WHAT?: Practical, occupation-based activities co-designed with rural youth can serve as accessible preventative mental health interventions. Embedding structured co-design evaluation frameworks prospectively would strengthen future practice and replication.