Piloting an Innovative Concept of e–Mental Health and mHealth Workshops With Medical Students Using a Participatory Co-design Approach and App Prototyping: Case Study

Abstract

Background Medical students show low levels of e–mental health literacy. Moreover, there is a high prevalence of common mental illnesses among medical students. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can be used to maintain and promote medical students’ well-being. To date, the potential of mHealth apps for promoting mental health among medical students is largely untapped because they seem to lack familiarity with mHealth. In addition, little is known about medical students’ preferences regarding mHealth apps for mental health promotion. There is a need for guidance on how to promote competence-based learning on mHealth apps in medical education. Objective The aim of this case study is to pilot an innovative concept for an educative workshop following a participatory co-design approach and to explore medical students’ preferences and ideas for mHealth apps through the design of a hypothetical prototype. Methods We conducted a face-to-face co-design workshop within an elective subject with 26 participants enrolled at a medical school in Germany on 5 consecutive days in early March 2020. The aim of the workshop was to apply the knowledge acquired from the lessons on e–mental health and mHealth app development. Activities during the workshop included group work, plenary discussions, storyboarding, developing personas (prototypical users), and designing prototypes of mHealth apps. The workshop was documented in written and digitalized form with the students’ permission. Results The participants’ feedback suggests that the co-design workshop was well-received. The medical students presented a variety of ideas for the design of mHealth apps. Among the common themes that all groups highlighted in their prototypes were personalization, data security, and the importance of scientific evaluation. Conclusions Overall, this case study indicates the feasibility and acceptance of a participatory design workshop for medical students. The students made suggestions for improvements at future workshops (eg, use of free prototype software, shift to e-learning, and more time for group work). Our results can be (and have already been) used as a starting point for future co-design workshops to promote competence-based collaborative learning on digital health topics in medical education.

Mental health services for German university students: acceptance of intervention targets and preference for delivery modes

“…Concerns about the protection of sensitive data in digital health apps are well-known ( 77 ) and relevant to students. This is supported in a study by Dederichs et al ( 78 ) where students emphasized data security and the scientific evaluation of IMIs as relevant topics for mHealth app development.…”

“…Another promising method to increase the acceptance of IMIs involves participatory research design. Dederichs et al ( 78 ) conducted co-design workshops to identify medical students' preferences and ideas for mobile health apps to increase their acceptance, demonstrating the feasibility and acceptance of such workshops.…”

Development of the EVIBEC Learning Outcomes Framework to support the delivery of evidence-based practice curricula in health care professional programmes: a codesign approach

“…This overall approach lends itself well to application in a healthcare education setting although reports of its use in this context are limited. What is clear from the few studies undertaken is that co-design in health professional education has great potential to provide a structured approach to collaborative working in creating and refining curriculum which is responsive to the needs and interests of students, educators, practitioners, and patients [ 28 , 29 , 33 ].…”

Development of the EVIBEC Learning Outcomes Framework to support the delivery of evidence-based practice curricula in health care professional programmes: a Codesign Approach

“…Hardie et al, [33] utilised a co-design process that included undergraduate student nurses, to develop an innovative educational nursing preceptorship programme. The case study of Dederichs et al, [37] indicated the feasibility and acceptance of a participatory design workshop for medical students. What is clear is that co-design in health professional education has great potential to provide a structured approach to collaborative working in creating and re ning curriculum which is responsive to the needs and interests of students, educators, practitioners, practice development personnel and patients.…”