SmartCHANGE partner JAMK University of Applied Sciences has published an educational article detailing the innovative participatory framework used in our project. The article, titled "A new framework for utilising participatory methods" is now available in Jamk Arena Pro, a platform providing professional communities with peer-reviewed articles on diverse topics.
Why participatory methods matter
Developing effective digital health interventions requires more than good technology, it demands genuine input from the people who will actually use them. The article explains how SmartCHANGE involves healthcare practitioners, adolescents, and families throughout the design process, treating them as co-creators rather than passive recipients.
Across Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Portugal, our co-design activities are tailored to each country’s unique cultural context while keeping the project’s overall goals aligned. From building partnerships and exploring user needs to defining problems and generating solutions, participants shaped every aspect of the HappyPlant mobile app and the healthcare practitioners' web dashboard.
Real insights from real users
The participatory process revealed fascinating differences between countries. Finnish adolescents emphasised privacy and discussed energy drinks (restricted for under-15s in Finland), while Dutch teens focused more on competition with peers and body image concerns. Despite these differences, young people in both countries agreed: sleep and mental health matter more than physical activity for overall wellbeing.
Through creative activities like Photovoice, persona creation, and "Shark Tank" app pitching, participants voiced concerns that might otherwise have remained hidden. One Finnish girl shared how social media creates anxiety, while school nurses documented their workplace challenges through photography, insights that directly influenced the final app design.
Looking ahead
The SmartCHANGE project now enters its evaluation phase, with feasibility and usability studies planned across five sites during 2025-2026. Each site will recruit 100 children or adolescents to test the co-designed tools in real-world healthcare contexts.
This publication demonstrates our commitment to participatory approaches in digital health innovation. By involving end-users from the start, we're creating tools that truly serve their needs, and potentially transforming how we prevent cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in young people.