Developing Digital Platforms to Help Older Adults Stay Physically and Socially Active: Codesign Study to Develop a Toolkit and Evaluate its Impact

Abstract

Background: Digital technologies have the potential to support physical, cognitive, and social activity among older adults, but many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lack the resources to conduct meaningful co-design with older adults. Toolkits derived from rigorous co-design processes may offer a scalable mechanism for translating end-user priorities into real-world product development. Objective: The Generating Older Active Lives Digitally study aimed primarily to engage older adults in a co-design process to identify priorities for digital technologies that support physical activity and reminiscence. Secondary objectives were to (1) translate these findings into a practical developer-facing toolkit, and (2) evaluate the toolkit’s perceived utility and influence among digital technology SMEs. Methods: A total of 157 participants (121 older, 7 younger, and 29 staff) across 15 community and care settings in England and Scotland engaged in 106 technology interaction sessions, 22 evaluation focus groups, and 10 co-design workshops. These involved more than 20 digital technologies. Thematic analysis and structured card-ranking tasks were used to derive their priorities. Preliminary toolkits were co-designed and used by 10 UK-based SMEs who received small grants to apply the toolkit to active development projects. Their reports and follow-up interviews were analyzed thematically to identify perceived impacts on design decisions, product adaptations, and business outcomes. Results: Co-design activities generated 7 cross-cutting themes: motivation, content, barriers, design and inclusivity, suitability, acceptability, and motivations to use. These were organized into 3 toolkit sections: general design principles, online physical-activity platforms, and virtual reality. SMEs reported that the toolkits enhanced understanding of older adults’ needs, validated design decisions, and inspired some new features. Perceived impacts included improved usability, expanded accessibility options, increased content variety, clearer instructional design, enhanced social components, and reduced operational costs. SMEs also reported some business benefits, including strengthened cases for investment and increased product uptake. Conclusions: Co-designed toolkits may offer a useful and cost-effective mechanism for translating older adults’ priorities into digital product development. SMEs perceived this toolkit as practical, relevant, and impactful for informing design choices. This approach may complement, but does not replace, direct user involvement. It may help accelerate inclusive digital-health innovation for aging populations.