TY - GEN
T1 - Empowering Rural Caregivers Through Participatory Design
T2 - Lessons from the 3WINpA Project
AU - Ernst, Martin
AU - Pflegerl, Johannes
AU - Maurer, Doris
AU - Schmidt, Andrea
AU - Lampl, Christina
AU - Goldgruber, Judith
AU - Dohr, Sandra
AU - Paulinger, Gerhard
AU - Plunger, Petra
AU - Kratky, Wolfgang
AU - Gallistl-Kassing, Vera
AU - Turk, Eva
PY - 2026/5/21
Y1 - 2026/5/21
N2 - Informal caregivers in rural areas face fragmented support, high mental load, and limited access to digital services. The Austrian 3WINpA - A Triple-Win Approach to Equity, Participation and Sustainability applied participatory Design Thinking to co-create hybrid solutions linking health, inclusion, and sustainability. In three workshops with caregivers, community nurses, and local stakeholders, participants developed and prioritized three concepts from which CareCompass, a digital-analogue network calendar for care coordination was prioritized. The CareCompass prototype, featuring offline use and simplified navigation, was tested and refined based on feedback. Results highlight improved visibility of support networks, reduced coordination stress, and the value of local facilitators for trust and adoption. Despite a small, region-specific sample, the study illustrates how equity-oriented co-design can produce inclusive, sustainable digital tools for underserved caregivers.
AB - Informal caregivers in rural areas face fragmented support, high mental load, and limited access to digital services. The Austrian 3WINpA - A Triple-Win Approach to Equity, Participation and Sustainability applied participatory Design Thinking to co-create hybrid solutions linking health, inclusion, and sustainability. In three workshops with caregivers, community nurses, and local stakeholders, participants developed and prioritized three concepts from which CareCompass, a digital-analogue network calendar for care coordination was prioritized. The CareCompass prototype, featuring offline use and simplified navigation, was tested and refined based on feedback. Results highlight improved visibility of support networks, reduced coordination stress, and the value of local facilitators for trust and adoption. Despite a small, region-specific sample, the study illustrates how equity-oriented co-design can produce inclusive, sustainable digital tools for underserved caregivers.
KW - Caregivers/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Rural Population
KW - Empowerment
KW - Austria
KW - Rural Health Services/organization & administration
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105039957357
U2 - 10.3233/SHTI260698
DO - 10.3233/SHTI260698
M3 - Contribution to conference proceeding
C2 - 42175365
VL - 336
T3 - Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
SP - 2389
EP - 2393
BT - Opening the Personal Gate between Technology and Health Care
PB - IOS Press
ER -