Community Co-Design of a Quick Guide to Inform Digital Health Promotion Strategies for Asymptomatic Women at Risk of Chronic Disease.

INTRODUCTION

Chronic diseases are a leading cause of illness, disability, and death in Australian women. Co-design research methodologies offer promising approaches to developing community-centred solutions that improve engagement with preventive health. This community-driven research explored ways to improve the prevention and early detection of chronic diseases in healthy women (without symptoms of disease).

METHODS

A Double Diamond approach guided the project. Areas of interest were identified through a Community Conversation, followed by co-investigation of digital health promotion strategies for women. An online survey (n = 145) and in-depth interviews (n = 21) explored women's knowledge of chronic disease risk, risk prediction tools and screening. Thematic analysis informed key principles, which were ranked by a Consumer Reference Group and an Expert Reference Group to define a framework for digital health promotion strategies supporting self-management of chronic disease risk. These informed the development of a "Quick Guide" for digital health promotion to support risk management in women. The guide was refined through iterative feedback and tested for acceptability by health promotion professionals (n = 6).

RESULTS

Key themes included the need for tailored and accessible health information, convenience and affordability, and the recognition of how fear and mistrust influence health behaviours. Community connection and storytelling were prominent, as was targeting younger audiences through education and social media. The Quick Guide was deemed acceptable by professionals, especially useful for early-career practitioners.

CONCLUSION

This co-design project led to a practical Quick Guide to support the development of community-driven digital health promotion strategies for managing chronic disease risk in healthy women. SO WHAT?: Future research may explore its real-world application in digital campaigns and test its integration into primary care and community health services.