Background/Aims
Stroke survivors, particularly those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, face significant barriers accessing self-directed therapy during inpatient rehabilitation. Western Health developed a multilingual video library to support activity engagement, yet no purpose-built platform existed to deliver it meaningfully. This project aimed to co-design an accessible, culturally responsive application, aligned with survivor and clinician needs.
Methods
A three-phase co-design framework engaged stroke survivors, lived experience advisors, and a multidisciplinary team across nursing, medicine, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. Phase 1 gathered accessibility needs, functional requirements, and workflow considerations through interviews and workshops (n=10 staff including lived experience representation; n=3 survivors). Phase 2 developed personas and user stories to guide interface design priorities. Phase 3 consolidated findings into design specifications for a minimum viable product.
Results
Survivor interviews revealed that larger fonts, colour, minimal navigation, and relatable images of real survivors performing exercises were critical to engagement. Clinicians prioritised keyword and component-based video search, goal-aligned prescribing, and opt-in exercise reminders. A shared theme was that technology-related frustration shapes a core design principle of minimal steps from login to video. These insights produced a minimum viable product with multilingual support and a clinician portal enabling remote monitoring of patient engagement to inform prescription.
Conclusion
Embedding lived experience and multidisciplinary collaboration produces digital rehabilitation tools that are clinically relevant and culturally responsive. This work forms the foundation for further co-design iterations before the application delivers a Phase 2 clinical trial intervention, advancing equitable access to self-directed stroke recovery.