Meaningful involvement of children and young people in health technology development

Abstract

The anatomical, physiological, and developmental changes which arise as children mature through childhood and adolescence support the need to develop new health technologies that meet the specific requirements of children and young people (CYP). Failing to involve CYP during the development of technology increases the risk that the outcome falls short of their expectations and needs, leading to rejection of novel interventions. Through participation in health technology development, CYP and their families can provide context, insight, personal experience and tacit knowledge to ensure that the end-product is usable, acceptable, and can be integrated into its intended environment. A nuanced, balanced understanding of the methods that can be used to facilitate participation will support researchers in choosing an effective approach to involving CYP in health technology development. Methodological approaches include patient and public involvement and engagement, co-design, and experienced based co-design. These methods can be used in isolation or in combination, to facilitate meaningful involvement of CYP and encourage the development of impactful solutions, in consideration of the context, stakeholders, and objectives of the project. We provide the rationale and justification for involving CYP in health technology design and development, an explanation of the methods supporting meaningful involvement, and case studies exemplifying real world application of these methods with positive outputs.

Keywords:

• Children
• co-design
• PPI
• innovation
• Medtech

Acknowledgements

The research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Children and Young People MedTech Co-operative. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The authors would also like to acknowledge the CYP and families who have taken part in NIHR CYP MedTech and D4D activities. All images are included with consent from the owners and individuals featured.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Devices for Dignity MedTech Co-operative (D4D) and NIHR Children and Young People MedTech Co-operative (CYP MedTech). The Belt up case study was funded by the Medical Research Council Confidence in Concept scheme (Round 6). The Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Chatbot case study was funded by the NIHR Invention for Innovation Product Development Award. The JIA toolkit case study was funded by The Children’s Hospital Charity and the superhero vest case study was funded by NIHR CYP MedTech and Tookie Co.