I can decide MyGOALS! Co-designing an online tool for child-led goal setting and evaluation

Abstract

AIM: To co-design an online tool to facilitate child-led goal setting in collaboration with children, caregivers, and allied health professionals. Method: We used a co-design approach informed by human-centred design principles. Children with disabilities or developmental delays (n = 7), their caregivers (n = 7), and allied health professionals (n = 13) participated in iterative technology co-design sessions to contribute their ideas and feedback. Qualitative inductive content analysis was used to categorise, synthesise, and interpret data. RESULTS: Participants identified 10 key design consideration themes that informed online tool development: Facilitating a multi-phase goal setting process, Visual without being distracting, Supporting children's autonomy and choice, Supporting children's motivation and engagement, Collaborative functions, Flexible with personalisation, Scaffolding and support, Quick and easy to navigate, Multiple accessibility features, and Other clinical implementation considerations. The co-design process produced an early version of the online tool, called MyGOALS4Kids. INTERPRETATION: MyGOALS4Kids aims to support children's active participation and autonomy in eliciting, constructing, addressing, and evaluating intervention goals. The co-design process ensured that multiple perspectives were integrated into design, enhancing the tool's potential relevance and applicability in child-led goal setting practices. The key design considerations can inform future child-led technology developments. Further research is needed to investigate usability of MyGOALS4Kids in clinical settings.

Co-design methods involving collaboration with diverse community partners leads to optimal technology design for clinical contexts.Strength-based approaches, child autonomy, and personally valued goals were emphasised by participants.Key design considerations can inform future child-led technology.MyGOALS4Kids has potential utility as an online child-led goal setting tool.

eng