Designing for Engagement - finding new ways to improve online clinical research for study participants and researchers
About the study
We are conducting a study to investigate how to develop more effective digital health platforms. For this, we are inviting individuals who participated in the process of creating and developing any digital health platform (applications or websites), such as clinical researchers, human-computer interaction researchers, and system developers, to explore two primary topics:
- When study participants take part in clinical research, what makes them engage more or less in digital health interventions delivered through digital health platforms?
- How can we help clinical researchers and platform developers to create more effective digital health platforms?
We are interested in feedback, lessons learned, and suggestions based on your experiences. By participating in this study, you will play a vital role in improving digital health platforms, helping those who develop them and those who will use them in the future, such as patients and caregivers.
Your participation
You can contribute to our research by signing up to any of the studies below. All studies are carried out in English. When you take part, you will be informed about the particular study aims, what it means to participate, and your rights as a participant. You will be able to provide informed consent at that time.
Interview
During the interview, you will talk with a researcher about your experience with digital health platforms. The goal of the interview is not to explore your personal experiences as a patient with digital health interventions, so we will not ask any sensitive questions about your health or healthcare. We are also not developing a new digital health tool or service. Instead, we want to understand your professional perspective on the state of the field. The interview is estimated to take around 60-90 minutes and will either be in person at Uppsala University, or digitally, over a video call. Your participation is voluntary, and you can cancel your participation at any time.
Focus group
In the focus group, you will join a small group of other participants to discuss key themes that emerged from previous research. Th aim is to explore shared needs, challenges, and perspectives on developing and using digital health platforms. We will invite participants such as clinical researchers, interaction designers, and system developers to ensure a diverse range of professional insights. The focus group is expected to last about 90–120 minutes and will be held digitally, over a video call.
Delphi survey
This survey will build upon the key insights from previous interviews and focus groups. It aims to bring together different expert perspectives to reach a shared understanding of important needs and priorities in developing digital health platforms. As a participant you will be asked to rate how much you agree of disagree with a series of statements over a couple of survey rounds. Each of the two rounds is expected to take about 5 minutes.
Workshop
During these workshops, participants will work together to review, validate, and provide critical feedback on a methodological framework for digital health platforms, which we will develop based on previous research findings. The workshop aims to explore and experiment with our proposed methodological framework and collect participant feedback. Each workshop is expected to last around 3 to 4 hours and will be held digitally, over a video call, or in person at Uppsala University.
At any stage, your participation is voluntary, and you can cancel your participation at any time.
If you have not received an invitation to participate in this research but would like to, please leave your contact information in our expression of interest form.
Data protection
Your answers will be processed so that only authorized researchers can access them. Uppsala University is responsible for the survey. According to the EU's Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to access the information about you that is handled in the project, free of charge, and to correct any errors if necessary.
The Ethics Review Authority has reviewed the application; the diary number for the review is 2025-03316-01.
More information
Here you can download and save complete information about the study: Information to research person pdf, 182 kB.
If you have any questions about the study, you can contact the researcher responsible, Anna Kharko, Uppsala University (anna.kharko@uu.se, 073 469 74 72).