Co-designing the future of respiratory healthcare

This paper explores the methodology of a healthtech innovation accelerator that centres lived experience through a combination of co-design and user-centred design (UCD). In 2023, Asthma + Lung UK launched an Innovation Accelerator (accelerator) to identify and support desirable and effective respiratory healthtech. A key aim was to develop an approach to support the meaningful involvement of people living with lung conditions. The approach developed involved people with lived experience in both co-design and UCD. A co-design team included people living with lung conditions, respiratory research and innovation experts and designers, who worked together to design and deliver the 12-month accelerator. A separate cohort of 31 people living with lung conditions tested two healthtech products over 8 weeks, sharing their feedback and experiences using mobile ethnography. Combining co-design and UCD delivered actionable insights for product improvements, grounded in lived experience, and highlighted potential uptake among different populations. The study demonstrates the significance of combining co-design and UCD methodologies to overcome the limitations of each, and how this was practically applied to a healthtech accelerator. The project generates transferable learning around enabling shared decision-making power while reducing bias and ensuring multiple, diverse voices meaningfully influence the product development process.